Happiness from pain
by kitkathampster
Summary: Mami has a past that she was always running from with her always faithful partner Naoki. How will she cope when someone she has known for years comes to help her to not only love herself but to help her trust others around her.
1. Prologue

Prologue

This was a solo mission, a solo mission that this particular ANBU was perfect for, this mission was practically made for the guy.

A few days before the Third Hokage had summoned this particular shinobi to his office, the elder man explained the outline of the mission and what was expected of the ANBU, this was a very important mission and if he was to fail there was no knowing what would happen. With a few hurried words of wisdom and a reminder to stay safe the old goat waved the ANBU away with a smile; how could he always do that, be all serious one second and then be happy the next.

The ANBU let out a rare smile of fondness as he hid in the prickly bushes just outside the boarder of the village, he watched the entrance with well trained eyes for any movement the enemy might make while he waited.

This was a small inconspicuous village that was hidden in the Land of the Forests; in the Forest of Bewilderment to be exact, but the few sightings of this place soon rose suspicion within the surrounding towns, as the village grew from nothing it went from only a handful of houses to having a giant wall built around it overnight, within the wall there was only a small opening were the entrance was.

The grey haired ANBU crouched down in the thorny bushes a few meters away from the entrance and waited, this was a recon mission, the elder man had explain that because of his speciality this ANBU would be perfect to gather the information that was needed. The mission sounded easy and simple but that was never the case if an ANBU was sent on a regular Jonin mission, his job was to infiltrate the village and find out if a missing nin by the name of Ayumu was inside, once he had any information on his whereabouts the ANBU was to send word back to the leaf village and then wait for backup to arrive.

It had only been three minutes but it felt like an hour since the ANBU had sent his four legged partner in for a quick snoop around, as he waited petulantly a shadow creped across the opening of the village, as fast as lightning the ANBU had his kunai at the ready and was about to strike when the owner of the shadow popped out the opening and looked around. It was a small light brown miniature pug dog, his dark brown ears priced up as he listened, his black nose twitched and his dark eyes squinted in the darkness as if he was looking for someone.

"Pakkun…over here" The grey haired ANBU whispered as he raised his head slightly for the four legged animal to see him. The small pug dog looked up to see his partner before rushing over without making a sound, his leaf village headband glinting in the soft moonlight.

"There you are Kakashi" The dog panted as he pawed at the dirt beneath him, his blue vest now a mess of thorns and ash.

"Well?" Kakashi asked as he removed his porcelain animal mask from his face, his red sharingan eye watched the pug as he rolled around trying to get the ash off his fur.

"It doesn't look good, the place is empty and burned to the ground but there is something strange about it" Pakkun replied as Kakashi helped him to remove the sharp thorns.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked removing the last thorn from Pakkuns thick brown fur and flicking it away with long slender fingers.

"It's better if I show you" Pakkun said quietly, his paws softly padded in the dirt until he was turned to go the way he had just came; his front paw raised and ready to go.

"Wait..." Kakashi hushed as he slowly looked over from his hiding bush, he heard something but it was so faint the didn't know if he really heard it "...did you hear that?"

Pakkun looked up at Kakashi confused as his ears picked forward, had the stress finally got to his master. The two just sat there hidden in the undergrowth as they stayed silent, both Kakashi and Pakkun listened out for a few minutes, the only thing they could hear was the soft whisper of the wind rushing though the trees; Pakkun was about to give up when a dull thud reached their ears.

"Yes I did" Pakkun trailed off in disbelief as his eyes looked towards the noise, who else was there and why didn't he smell them before? The thuds became more frequent and heavier as someone moved towards the only exit, the smell of ash and death hung heavy in the air and then they saw who it was.

A pair of green irises peered out into the moon lit night making the red sclera behind the green stand out that little bit more, his head was covered in a huge white hood with a black mask covering the bottom of his face, the only visable part was his unique eyes. His huge muscular body was covered in a baggy dark blue t-shirt and light blue bottoms with a white sash wrapped around his waist. The silver headband was mounted on a black material that wrapped around the top of his head, the metal glinted in the light to show he was a missing nin from Takigakure the waterfall village.

Pakkun looked up at his partner in question as the missing nin fled into the shrubbery to the left of the entrance and disappeared into the night.

"We have a mission to do…" Kakashi replied as he gave one more glance over the bush "…he can wait for the time being" Looking both ways before kneeling back down Kakashi creped out of the bush he was hinding behind and tiptoed to the opening.

While watching their step the two made their way slowly into the burned down village, even if the place was empty they still had to be careful; who knows there could be traps everywhere. By the state of things this village could have only been empty for a short while, the piles of ash that had once been houses were still soldering as the debris crumbled away; so if Kakashi had to guess it could've been only thirty to forty five minutes since the fire had died down.

Kakashi causelessly followed Pakkun as he lead the way though the piles of ashes and burnt to the brink structures to what had to be the weirdest thing Kakashi had ever come across in all his life. In the middle the burnt to the ground village was a small hut, a hut that looked like it was newly built. There was a singular wooden door into the small building but there wasn't a window to speak of, the walls were bathed in the bright sliver moonlight as Pakkun sniffed around the sealed wooden door.

"I can smell blood and salty water in there, I think someone's inside with maybe a small animal…" Pakkun said as he continued sniffing at the miniscule gap "…I'm not sure what though"

"It's ok, thanks for the help Pakkun" Kakashi watched as the small pug sat by the door with a doggy kind of smile, suddenly a puff of smoke engulfed the small brown dog and when it had cleared he was gone.

Kakashi glanced at the spot his doggy partner had disappeared before he concentrated on the problem at hand, the door. The thick wooden door was locked from what Kakashi could gather and it had been sealed with what looked like a complex paper bomb, whoever was inside no one wanted them to come out.

With a few hand signs and a bit of waving Kakashi managed to rip the door out of place the threw the thing into the air, the wooden block flew for only two seconds before it blew up, the splintered wood then rained down upon the shinobi as he took a look inside.

Kakashis dark eye squinted in the low light that the open doorway was providing to see a small child huddled into the corner of the room. The sliver moonlight poured into the small space behind the ANBU helping him to see inside better but the young male wished he was blind from what he saw, Pakkun did say he could smell blood but it was astounding to think that with this much blood could come from one small child. There was blood splatter all over the walls and floor, from where he was standing Kakashi could see every movement this child made from the moment the first spot of blood was spilt.

The child in question was huddled out the way in the corner of the small hut, their own blood covered from what Kakashi could see their small naked body from head to toe, their hair was matted with the thick red liquid as they cowered away from the stranger. The moonlight that flooded the now open door kept glinting off the thick sliver chains that were attached to the wrists and ankles of this poor child; Kakashi could hear the snuffles of the child's tears as their body shock with fear.

With his sharingan Kakashi did a quick sweep of the place, he couldn't see any traps but he could now tell that the child was a young girl. Kakashi had to take a deep breath to calm himself down, he felt physically sick seeing this poor girl in this state and his blood boiled; how could anyone do this to an innocent child. Taking one more look around and finding nothing out of the ordinary the shinobi took a step forward, his boot made a dull thud on the blood spattered wooden floor that alerted the child's protector.

A small red fur ball jumped up from behind the young girl and stood before his master in the way of the so called intruder, he tried to bark menacingly at Kakashi but it sounded more like a pitiful yelp as his hackles raised.

"Stay away…" The small blood covered child screamed as she snuck further into the small space "…don't come any closer"

The puppy once again barked at Kakashi as he took another step forward, when he didn't listen the puppy leapt to protect his mistress and his teeth sunk straight into the top of Kakashis left thigh. The male ANBU looked down to see the puppy that was trying to bite a chunk out of his leg when he noticed something glint around the puppy's neck, a collar and name tag.

"You must be Naoki…" Kakashi inquired softly as he stroked the growling puppy on the head "…it's ok little one, I'm here to help" With a small tug and a lot of soft reassurance from the ANBU the small dog let go, he still growled and grumbled at the intruder but from the way the small dog was being held he couldn't sink his teeth into him again.

"Stay away" The small girl cried again as she tried to cover herself the best she could, her small body trying to get even further away as she shuffled back.

"I'm a ANBU black Op, I'm based in the Village hidden in the Leaves…"

"Your from the Leaf Village" The girl whimpered softly as she kept her eyes to the floor, her voice was gruff from disuse or most likely screaming.

"Yes I am" Kakashi confirmed as he knelt down and gently placed Naoki on the floor beside him, with his new freedom Naoki shock himself off before padding off to sit with his owner.

"I…" The young girl stated "…I want to go home" She slowly turned her face towards the ANBU or where she thought he was. Once she was fully facing the ANBU the child's face was hit by a bright beam of moonlight allowing Kakashi to see her fully, he was horrified at what he saw and Kakashi couldn't help when his heart soften for the poor, terrified girl.

"Don't worry…" Kakashi whispered as he gently tried to wipe the blood and tears from her face with a clean cloth"…you're safe now, I will get you home"

A.N. A new and improved prologue. I had an idea for a new story that would invole my OC Mami but it won't work in this story, so I have changed this one about a bit for the two storys to work together. So long and enjoy.


	2. Home

Chapter 1: Home

"We're nearly home Naoki…" A soft voice sighed as the huge green gates of Konohagakure finally came into view, welcoming the worn, tired kunoichi and her furry partner back to the only home they had known "…we're nearly home"

It had been six long and draining months since the female shinobi had last seen the Hidden Leaf Village let alone been inside it's great walls, six months since she had first set out on a wild goose chase with her faithful four legged partner Naoki. Naoki himself padded along side his mistress and barked encouragingly at the young kunoichi, only a hundred more feet and they would be home.

In her twenty one years of life Mami had never been so happy to see the huge green gates.

All the kunoichi really wanted to do was have a good long soak in a really hot bath before dragging herself into a nice comfortable bed for a well earned rest; forget the stupid report that could wait until the morning.

As the two walked painfully slow steps towards their goal the bright, golden sun was beginning to set behind the hidden village and it only served to make the place more magical to them, the suns last golden rays for the day hit the Hokage Monument just right, the light cast small shadows on their carved stone faces to bring the past Hokages to life as they watched over the village they had died to protect.

The kunoichi's dark eyes watched her sandaled feet move one in front of the other as the two tracked closer and closer to the huge wooden gates, the hundred foot now cut down to fifty.

With a creek and a moan the grand gates of the village opened as the sun cast down it's last few rays of light, now that the gates were open the kunoichi and Naoki could fully enjoy the sunset with no interference. The glowing light warmed the tired kunoichi making her smile softly as the shadows of four individuals standing in the open gateway was cast upon her, even if one shadow had changed recently she knew which shadow belonged to who.

The female shinobi looked up with her tired beast like eyes to see Rock Lee standing there in his ever present green jumpsuit with a huge smile on his eager face, the rim of the setting sun was slowly disappearing behind Hokage Monument casting the last rays of golden light before it left.

"Well well well…" The kunoichi sighed as she crept closer and closer to the village limits "…it looks like the fantastic four are going out on a mission" That was what the group was often referred to because that was what they were, when this team of four were put together there was no stopping them, every mission was a success. Another tired sigh escaped the weary ninja as she rubbed at her dark eyes, the muscles and joints in her body hurt but it was her eyes that always took a beating, no matter where she went or did.

"Well well well…" Lee jested back as he watched on. The long haired kunoichi dragged her feet along to tired to pick them up, her always faithful partner bouncing along beside her "…it looks like Mami has just got back from a mission with Naoki…" As Naoki passed the eager group Lee gave him an affectionate rub behind his floppy ears that was more fuzz then anything else "…how did it go?" Mami just looked at the pumped up man and pulled a face as she strolled past, her feet dragging the dirt along in puffs of sandy clouds.

"I would offer you some snacks Mami but…" Came the muttered words of one of the group as the voice's owner looked down at the bag in his hand "…I won't have enough for the mission if I do" This was the voice of Choji Akimichi, the only shinobi in the entire village that has a constant supply of food at hand, he may be on the chubbier side but he had a heart of gold that was just as big; He was one of Mamis closest friends since they were young so she knew the Akimichi well. Mami couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips as her eyes fell on her long time friend.

In a village like this it wasn't at all surprising that the kids would pick up their parents phases or even their mannerisms, hell even the female shinobi had inherited her own mothers fiery temper.

"You're a moron Choji…" The only female of the group moaned as she flipped her blonde hair back, her other hand clenched and ready to hit the; in her own opinion, the dumb ass "…can you ever think of other things beside food or your stomach? You better not screw this mission up"

"Calm down Ino" Shino Aburame the last of the group interjected before a fight broke out between the two. Mami just smiled a little more, it had been a long time since she had been in a squad on a mission, she missed the companionship, she missed being home.

"See ya…" Mami threw over her shoulder as she moved closer into the heart of the village, to worn out and tired to see them off properly, Mami waved over her shoulder as she found herself that closer to a nice hot bath "…and good luck"

"Thanks" Came the short reply as the hum of four voices slowly left the village with Ino and Choji still bickering between them. Mami let out a small giggle as she left, hearing the two bicker until they were to far to hear.

As Mami hurried that little bit more to the water that was calling her the tips of her light brown hair felt heavy, it was as if the long brown strands were weighing her head down. The ends of the thick hair tickled the base of Mamis back as it swayed with her movements, the bath can also wait for morning; if she didn't hurry Mami would fall asleep in the middle of the street.

Mami and Naoki walked in a almost trance like state as they moved their feet one in front of the other, soon the grand village gates were out of sight and Mami turned a corner with a huff, she still had to get to her small one bedroom flat that they called home, problem was it was on the other side of town; just their luck.

As the two tiredly made their way home many other shinobi and kunoichi in the village passed them by, they greeted the tired female with a wave as they wondered from place to place but there was a few that tried to make conversation; Mami would tiredly wave back to each greeting and would growl at the few that tried to talk, she was to tired to do anything but crawl into he waiting bed.

Mami watched as the citizens of the village left for their homes as the busy day life came to an end, but it wasn't long before the buzz of the thriving night life that many citizens and ninja alike enjoyed came to the streets. If she wasn't so tired Mami would be joining the parties that were starting up in the handful of bars that scarred the village; if she remembered correctly it was Naruto was having a birthday bash tonight.

The lids of her dark beast like eyes were just to heavy to ignore as they kept drooping closed, she felt like a child falling asleep in their food before their afternoon nap. With one last droop Mami eyelids finally won and she fell to the dusty floor in a heap, she had to make do with the hard dirt to sleep on for six months one more nap won't make a difference.

Mami wiggled around in the dirt until she found the most comfortable position she could to sleep in, with a smile she snuggled into the ground and started to drift off but it wasn't long before she was disturbed. Mami could hear the faint whispers of passers by, as they hurried from place to place, some were sympathetic of her sleeping on the floor others were outraged that Mami was in the way; Mami didn't care, all she wanted was to sleep but when the females whispers soon turned into confessions of love stuck teenagers she knew who had arrived. Isamu is in the building.

Mami was to tired to fight this prick, the prick that tried it on with anything that breathed, so the moment Mami heard his footsteps getting closer she froze hoping he wouldn't notice her body in the way. Panic rushed along her veins when the footsteps stopped right beside her, damn it Isamu had spotted her. Trying her best to keep the act up her whole body went floppy when a pair of strong arms surrounded the female shinobi.

"Nice to see you back…" A deep voice chuckled as the body that carried her swayed from side to side, Mami would know that voice anywhere but she was just to tired to answer back and besides the warmth was to nice to ignore, she snuggled up to his body heat and let out a content sigh "…I know your tired but falling asleep in the middle of the street isn't a good idea" The voice lectured as Mami out right ignored him, the veil of sleep was to heavy to ignore especially with his body heat and the safety Mami felt in his arms.

Mami could sense her big fluffy partner following them as she was being gently carried though the streets in her half sleep state, she was sure that in the morning she would feel really embarrassed from not only collapsing in the middle of the village but also when it sunk in that it was HIM that was carrying her home. Naoki sensed his mistresses embarrassment but he didn't make a sound to which Mami was grateful for, no need to make the situation any worse then it already was, she just wanted to get to bed and fast.

The males deep voice kept lecturing Mami as her head rested on his chest but she didn't care, he should try again in the morning when she was more wake or when his heartbeat didn't try to lull her to sleep.

"In the pack" The brunette sighed when she herd the familiar sound of feet echoing up hard cold steps, she was finally at her flat and so close to a comfortable bed. Mami squinted her tired eyes to look up at the face of her carrier once they came to a stop outside her door, his dark hair was pulled back into it's normal ponytail as his brown eyes searched for the key; there was a bit of shifting that was rather uncomfortable to the tired kunoichi as he tried to locate the keys but after a minute or two they were found.

The key easily slipped into place and the lock opened allowing the male to swing the door open and sweep Mami inside, with a sigh the female shinobi was gently placed on the most softest beds she could hope for, her bed.

"Sleep well Mami" The voice whispered as his strong hands tucked the tired women into bed, his gentle hand also brushed the tickling hair from her face before the males made in way towards the door. Mami was at home and safe in her bed, Naoki was snuggled up in his bed in the corner and in Mamis eyes all was well.

"Thanks Shikamaru" Was all Mami could whisper before the black veil of sleep distended upon her and she finally drifted off into a deep sleep.


	3. Sleep

Chapter 2: Sleep

Sleep was wonderful, sleep was blissful, sleep was magical, sleep was well sleep.

Mami laid in the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in with the warmest blanket known to man covering her slender body as she slept soundly in the safety of her flat.

Every so often when Mami would drift into the world of half asleep she would feel the cold wet nose of her partner Naoki as he would nudge her, just checking that she was ok when she rested. Mami could also feel the presence of anther person in the room as she rested in the half world state, sometimes they would gently brush her mud caked hair back, or they would move the warm blanket so it completely covered Mami as she tossed and turned in the night and oddly enough she even had the sensation of being shaken; she would even hear the soft voices talking to her like she was an impertinent child who refused to get out of bed in the morning, well she was in a way.

When Mami was in the world of deep sleep and dreams they were a blur of colours and people as they swirled together in a mismatched pattern that somehow made perfect sense, Mami dreamt of her family, friends and colleges as she rested.

It was the tenth time of Mami slipping into the world of the half asleep when she finally awoke from her sleep.

The soft murmurs of her sister in laws team-mate drifted into her room as Mami became more aware of her surroundings, the murmurs soon turned into loud shouting which made her smile thinking it was another dream that her mind had conjured up; however this wasn't a dream.

Mami was shocked out of her blissful half world when a loud bang echoed though out the flat, the poor sleeping women sat up in an instant thinking she was under attack, the blanket pooled around her waist as she looked towards the door. Now in ninja mode Mami looked round for the kunai she always kept by her bedside, as her fingertips brushed against the cool handle a voice shouted.

"Stupid thing" Shikamaru shouted, his deep voice rumbling though the thick door of Mamis bedroom. When Mami realised it was Shikamaru having a misunderstanding with some of her belongings she couldn't help but giggle, Naoki wasn't in the room with her so Mami figured he was in the other room.

With a sigh the young women left the warmth and comfort of her bed to see what was really going on.


	4. First Time

Chapter 3: First time

It was a peaceful evening in Konohagakure as the sun cast it's last rays of the day over the sleepy village, it was peaceful and relaxing for one kunoichi in particular as she lay on the sofa with a good book in her hands; the breeze from the open window gently moving the women's long hair, welcoming her home after the long mission.

It had been two days since Mami had woken from her slumber and she was enjoying the peace and quiet while she could, she had spent the last two days writing the report that could've been done in seven words; I went, I saw, he wasn't there, Mami also spent some time with her new nephew Hiroto.

Mami sighed thinking back to spending the whole day with the Hokage explaining what she saw, what she did and if there were any leads to follow, sadly there wasn't.

The kunoichi breathed deeply though her nose taking in the soft peach smell of her flat with just a hint of dog in the background, it had been too long since Mami had last been here, taking in the soft sun as she relaxed with a good book in her hands.

The flat was small but simple, it was a one bed roomed apartment with an open plan kitchen/living area and a small bathroom; the kitchen and living area were separated by a countertop also known as a breakfast bar. The kitchen had been decorated with light greys and blues with a dash of white thrown in, the floor was made of light grey tiles that formed a small pattern, the tops were also a light grey but the cabinets were a light shade of white that was more like ivory and the walls were made of grey, blue and white tiles; the plan was simple but it worked well.

The bathroom was also a small and simple room, it had a sink, bath/shower and a toilet which were white; all a kunoichi would need, the walls were painted a light lavender with a light blue woodwork.

The bedroom was a bit bigger then one would expect in a flat this size, Mami could get her bed; which was bigger then a single but smaller then a double into the corner of the room along with a bedside table, a chest of draws, a small built in wardrobe and her desk, the walls were painted a light ivory but the floor was covered in a rich red carpet that was snuggle worthy, the furniture was all made of a light wood that was strong and sturdy.

The last room; but Mamis favourite was the living room, it had a thick plush royal blue carpet with light cream walls. The room wasn't really big but there was enough room for a sofa, a coffee table and a medium sized bookcase. The sofa was really a two seater but it was big enough to fit three medium people on, it was made of a strong wooden frame and covered in the softest padding you could think off with a light blue cover, the coffee table was made out of the same light wood as the bedroom furniture along with the bookshelf that was full of Mamis most read books; the ones she wouldn't read again or didn't like got pasted on for others to read.

As soon as the tired female shinobi got back from her long day with the Hokage Mami ran a hot steaming bubble bath and soaked in it's delight, it was a good hour before she climbed out of the bath and got dressed for the night, she wore a dark blue tank top with a pair of long black cotton bottoms.

Mami couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Shikamaru when she had first woken from her sleep; to which she found she had been out for two days straight, there was Shikamaru sitting in the middle of her small kitchen with a pan on his head, Naoki was sniffing around the man picking any stray bits of food that were all over the countertops. By the end of the incident Mami found that Shikamaru couldn't cook for toffee so she offered to give him some lessons, he was rather pleased and happily took the offer; Shikamaru would be coming over in two days for his first lesson.

It was as Mami enjoyed the suns last rays flittering threw the window when there was a load bang at her door making the kunoichi jump out of her skin, Naoki jumped from his spot by the sofa to leap at the door waiting for his mistress to open it. Mami knew she was safe in her home village but the sudden loudness still caused her to worry, slowly so not to made a sound the female shinobi threw on her dressing gown before creping towards the door and gently creaked the door open, what Mami saw was the thing she least expected.

"Hi baby doll…" Isamu greeted making Mami shiver at the stupid pet name "…fancy coming out with me tonight?" The man looked Mami up and down with lust filled grey eyes, the women was too shocked to answer; how the hell did he know where she lived.

"No thanks…" Mami stuttered as she played with the tie of her dressing gown "…I'm having a quiet night in tonight" She hinted for Isamu to go away by trying to close the door but the big lug put his foot in the way stopping the wooden door from closing.

"But you never know, this might be your lucky night" Isamu whispered as he wiggled his blonde eyebrows and flexed his huge arm muscles.

"What do you mean it could be my lucky night?" Mami asked as Naoki poked his fluffy head round the door, he grumbled at the guest and then sat back on his hunches; he must have hoped it was someone else at the door.

"Well…" Isamu winked as he brushed his floppy blonde hair back "…this could be your chance to hock up with me and maybe it could lead to somewhere else" His sickly charm might work on some of the brainless dodos of this village but not Mami.

"Get lost" She growled before slamming the door on his foot, when the moron hopped around and howled in pain she slammed the wood shut and stormed away from the door; she just couldn't believe the nerve of that guy.

With a frustrated sigh Mami threw herself onto the sofa and looked around her small flat, it was small compared to some places she had seen but it had served her well for the past two years when she had first moved out of her childhood home.

All around the flat there were signs of who lived here, there were pictures of the female shinobi and her family dotted around the place; Mami even had a wall in her bedroom covered in pictures of her friends; she didn't have any her own age but she didn't care. There were trinkets all over the place, items that showed the little quirks that Mami had, it was her space and her space alone; once again Mami snuggled into her favourite spot on the sofa and got back to reading her book, as she relaxed Naoki trotted over and spread out of the floor beside his mistress.

The next hour ticked by as Mami turned page after page of her book and Naoki happily snored away on the floor, Mami smiled at the silence before once again being interrupted by a load knock on the door; Mami sighed as Naoki leapt up and rushed to the door, his mistress dragging her heels as she followed.

"Mami…" A ruff voice called though the thick wood "…you in?" Realising who it was on the other side Mami hurried towards the door and nearly falling over in her haste, once there she tugged at the door to until it opened for her to see Shikamarus bloody face.

"Oh god…" Mami gasped as she ushered the hurt shinobi into the flat, she closed the door with the back of her heel before supporting some of Shikamarus weight and helping him to stagger towards the bathroom "…what happened?" As carefully as she could Mami sat Shikamaru onto the lip of the bath, once he was steady Mami quickly whipped the first aid box out of its hiding place and opened the big white box.

"Nothing really" The male dismissed as Mami rummaged around in the box as she looked for the antiseptic wipes, with a huff she found them and ripped the packaging open, she had done this sort of thing many times before and with Sakura teaching her it was a snap.

"Really?" The kunoichi asked with a raised eyebrow as here eyes locked onto Shikamarus. He shrugged his shoulders in response as Mami started to wipe the smeared blood away from his face, her hands were steady and worked quickly as she remembered her basic aid training.

"I'm…no…" Shikamaru sighed as Naoki shoved his way into the small bathroom to see what all the commotion was all about, his body taking up the rest of the space in the room "…something did happen but it's all sorted"

"Are you going to tell me?" Mami half asked as Naoki pined in sympathy, his big eyes looked up at the hurt Shikamaru as he pinned again, he got a quick rub behind the ears in reassurance. With the dry blood gone from obstructing her view Mami could see there was a small cut above Shikamarus right eyebrow and a gash along his left cheek, they looked nasty but nothing serious.

"You don't want to know" Shikamaru dismissed with a wave of his hand as he looked down at his feet, he looked just like a child in trouble with their mother as he wiggled his feet about. Mami let out a small giggle as she once again rummaged round in the first aid kit.

"Tell me anyway and besides I would like to know" Shikamaru let out a deep sigh as he continued to look down at his feet, slowly he lifted his head but his eyes darted from place to place, refusing to look Mami right in the eye. Mami gave him the kindest smile she could manage as she continued to rummage around, he quickly looked back down at his feet before he hesitantly explained.

"Me and the guys were out for a drink, we were about to get the second round when Isamu walked in…" Mami tensed, this didn't sound good "…he looked…ouch" Shikamaru moved away from the rough treatment he was receiving from a half listening Mami and nearly fell into the white bathtub, he looked a little shocked for a moment as his hand went to touch the tender flesh.

"Oh…" Mami exclaimed when she realised she was being a bit to rough with cleaning the cuts "…sorry" Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she threw away the blood covered wipe and got out a fresh one.

"Don't worry about it…anyway when Isamu walks in the guys left leaving me with the bill as always. As I pay up Isamu comes over to the bar with a face like thunder and starts off on one, he starts calling this women a slut and a bitch saying she is a waste of space and should have never been found…" A pair of deep brown eyes looked up at Mami with a shame hidden within their chocolate depths "…he rated on like there was no tomorrow and when he said your name I…I…I lost my temper"

"You got in a fight with him over me…didn't you?" Mami whispered in disbelief as her hands quickly finished coving the cuts on the mans face, her face was blank so Shikamaru couldn't tell what she was feeling, that worried him the most.

"Yes" Shikamaru whispered back, his eyes trying to pick up on any movement Mamis face might make.

"You can't do that you know…" Shikamaru gazed up looking confused and a little insulted as Mami gently took his face in her hands, she had a small smile on her face as her beast like eyes looked at him "…you can't fight everyone who says a bad word about me, if you did then we would never see the end of the line. I have always been picked on and I've excepted that but it's not your battle, it's mine" Mami explained full heartedly.

"Mami…" Shikamaru called as he placed his warm hands over Mamis, he could feel her heat on his cheeks and his palms and the tired to explain "…do you remember the moment we first met? I have defended your every move from that moment on, what makes you think I'm going to stop now?"

"But your hurt because of me" Mami explained desperately as he fingertips gently bushed along his skin.

"And…I don't care"

"But…" Mami tired hoping Shikamaru would understand but she never got to make her point, with a look of determination on his face Shikamaru moved one of his hands around to the back of her smooth neck, his fingers whispered up her neck until they reached the base of her skull. With a quick warning smile Shikamaru pulled Mami in for a kiss, their lips met for only the briefest of moments before he pulled away.

"Don't say another word Mami, I will fight you on this one. I have and always will fight for you and there is nothing you can say that will stop me, it's best for both of us if you just relax and except that, it will only stress us out more if you don't" Their breath danced together as the two pressed their foreheads together, Shikamarus hand keeping them in place as their dark eyes looked at each other. Silence ticked by as the two stayed there, one on the edge of the bath while the other knelt on the floor, they were both shocked at the chain of events but neither of them wanted to move. It was Mami who moved first, her eyes darted down for a second before they looked back up, her lips tugged into a small smile as she started to speck.

"Please…" Once again Shikamaru stopped the words coming out of her mouth by placing a kiss to Mamis lips, this time it lasted a little longer.

"Stop it" Shikamaru whispered as he pulled away, his lips not moving far as they ghosted over hers, he would not listen to Mami putting herself down.

"But…" Shikamaru didn't give up his point and kissed Mami again as she tried to speck, the women looked a little frustrated as the shinobi pulled away.

"No"

"I was…" When Shikamaru tried to kiss her again Mami shifted out the way preventing the shinobi's lips from coming into contact with hers "…I was trying to ask if you meant it?"

"Meant what?" Shikamaru asked confused as Mamis cheeks blushed a deep shade of red as she looked down at her twisting fingers, a sign that she was nervous.

"Did these kisses mean anything…to you?" Mami whispered as the red on her cheeks got even deeper. This wasn't want Shikamaru was expecting out of her mouth, he looked a little shocked and really embarrassed, why did he do it. He open and closed his mouth several times as his mouth felt as dry as a desert, he couldn't get the words out and it looked like he was doing a fish impression, it made him feel stupid.

"I…I mean…well…I…"

"Yes…" Mami prompted. Each word Shikamaru stuttered started a different sentence, he didn't know what to say, what could he say? In his haste to say something three words came out of his mouth, not the ones he wanted though but they were words all the same.

"I better go" His body moved of it's own accorded as he stood up, he weaved around the living obstacles in the bathroom before walking right of the door leaving Mami feeling confused.

She blinked once when Shikamaru left the room and it took that long for her brain to soak this information in, quickly she packed away the first aid kit and then rushed out to hear the front door opening and a pair of foot steps leaving.

Mami didn't know what was happening with Shikamaru, he was acting strange and she wanted to know why. The two had been close for years, almost as close as Shikamaru and Choji so Mami picked up on every little change the man showed.

What was going on?

Mami had no time to ponder what had happened when the door closed with a soft click, the male in question walked back into view as she strolled over to Mami, he had a look of fierce determination on his face as he strolled over to the confused kunoichi standing in her living room.

"Shikamaru what's going on?" Shikamaru didn't answer the question with any words to which Mami was a little insulted but he did answer her in a different way. Instead of using words Shikamaru walked right up to Mami and pulled her slender body to his, their toned bodies pressed against one another as Shikamaru tilted his head to the side, with a small smile he lowered his head and pressed his lips to Mamis. The two stood there in the embrace both confused as hell but really happy at the same time.

"I need to say this now before I loose my nerve. I like you Mami, I mean really like you, have done for a while…" Shikamaru pressed a gentle kiss to Mamis forehead with a small smile on his lips as he clutched the women to him "…it's been a drag as I have wanted to ask you for a while but I couldn't pluck up the courage. Yes I did mean every word I said and yes I do like you, please say that you will go out with me" Shikamaru tightly held onto Mami as they stood there in the middle of her living area in half hug thing.

Mami stayed silent for a minute or two as her mind ticked over, a word sprang instantly to mind but her mouth couldn't form the word, her brain had to tick this one over before it allowed her to talk and when she did it was the one word that made both their hearts leap.

"Yes"


	5. Office Fight

Chapter 4: Office fight

"You look different" The Hokage mussed when Mami wondered into her office with Naoki trotting along by her side.

"How so malady?" Mami asked as she wondered what lady Tsunade was going on about, she hadn't done anything different this morning, she had the same clothes she normally wore; a pair of grey trousers with her blue headband wrapped around the top of her left thigh, a blue strapless top with two cut-off sleeves, the right fishnet armour and the left made of the same blue fabric as her top, she wore a pair of black boots on her feet and a pair of grey fighting gloves with the leaf symbol imprinted on the back, her long brown hair was down like normal.

"I can't put my finger on it…" The Hokage mussed as she tapped her chin with a thin finger "…but you just look different"

"Thank…you" Mami thanked unsure if it was a compliment or an insult from the leader of the village. Mami stood there with Naoki sitting beside her as they waited for the Hokage to speak, they had been summoned after all but the Hokage just sat there pondering with her head tilted slightly to the side, her pink manicured nails drumming on the wood of her desk.

Lady Tsunade seamed to have forgotten why she had called Mami to her office until Shizune entered the room with her arms full of documents.

"You did call Mami for a reason malady" Shizune reminded with a huff as she dumped a load of paperwork on the desk in front of the sighing older woman.

"I know, I know Shizune, no need to remind me…" Lady Tsunade snipped as she flipped one blonde pigtail behind her back before her eyes focused back on Mami "…anyway Mami we need to talk about the mission you were sent on"

"But malady I told you everything I possibly could…" Mami desperately begged, why won't this women take a hint "…I told you everything even if it had no importance over the last two three days. What more could I possibly do?" Mami was tired of this, the constant asking, the mission and even the Hokage, she had been drilled over and over again about the mission but the Hokage was still wasn't satisfied with what she got.

"Don't get smart with me young lady" Lady Tsunade warned with a pointed finger as her eyes glanced at the worn out kunoichi before her.

"I'm not lady Tsunade…" Mami moaned loudly as Naoki gave a sympathetic wine to his mistress "…there is nothing else to tell you"

"Malady?" A small voice interrupted, the voice's owner looked worried as they took a step forward.

"What Shizune" Lady Tsunade snapped as her annoyed brown eyes turned to her right hand women who now looked really scared.

"The other two you summand for have now arrived" Shizune was a full grown women and had been with Lady Tsunade for most of her life but even she hid behind the file clutched tightly in her hands, the ever faithful pig Tonton was also hiding behind Shizune.

"Send them in" Everyone was on tender hooks as tempers in the room rose to any all new level, they had been over this again and again, all of them worn out to the point of mental exhaustion, going over every detail with a toothpick and looking for things that weren't there.

Mami wondered who could have also been summand and turned as the door behind her creaked open, Shizune was in the way but once she moved there were two very familiar faces standing there, one had a rough animal like appearance but had a heart of gold while the other looked manly but it didn't really work he had a ponytail and a flower shop.

"Tsume, Inoichi would like to come in" The Hokage greeted as the two entered, they looked to the Hokage before looking to Mami, you could see the confusion I their eyes.

"What is this about?" Inoichi asked politely as Tsume happily greeted her stressed daughter.

"It's about that one…" Tsunade answered while she pointed at the guilty person in her mothers arms "…she is withholding information about the mission she was sent on"

"What?…" Tsume exclaimed as she pulled her daughter closer "…are your sure malady?" All three of her children had been raised on the straight and narrow, they had all been raised as ninja and all three were very good at their jobs so this was shocking news to the mother.

"Yes I am" Tsunade sighed as she slouched in her high backed chair, a look of distress crossed her saddened face before she glared at Mami.

"Are you Mami?" Tsume unsurely asked her daughter as she gently moved a stray stand of light brown hair out of her face.

"How can you doubt me mum…" Mami cried from her mothers tight hold, she wanted to scream out her frustrations, her body called out for a relaxing massage to get out the knots that formed from the mission, a mission that put her heart, body and mind to it's limit and back "…I have told Lady Tsunade every little detail of the mission, there is nothing more I can do"

"No you haven't…" The Hokage snapped as she stood from her seat "…I don't know what it is but there is defiantly something your not saying"

"I'm telling the truth…" Mami sobbed as tears of frustration rolled down her face "…there is nothing else to tell"

"Mami…"

"NO" Mami shouted as her mum tried to reach out and comfort her crying daughter, Mami just stood there sobbing as Tsume felt helpless, her daughter was crying and she was refusing comfort in any way. All Mami wanted was to talk to Shikamaru, he would listen to what she had to say, he would listen and then think of the best way to help her. Mami could see it now, Shikamaru telling her that everything would be ok and to just forget the stupid Hokage, to forget everything.

With a pine Naoki started to creep towards his mistress, his feet padding along the bare floor as he got closer and closer, Mami was hurting and Naoki wanted to help his owner, his friend.

"What was the mission if you don't mind me asking Lady Tsunade?" Inoichi asked as he watched the desperate mother trying to comfort her daughter.

"I sent Mami and Naoki to track an S class missing-nin…" The Hokage sighed as she rubbed at her temples, trying to rub away her growing headache "…once they had found his location they were to send word but when she turned up six months later with no leads I knew something was up" Naoki pinned for his master and took another step forward with his head bowed, he moved closer and closer to his distressed mistress who was still refusing comfort of any kind.

"Then why did you send for us?" Tsume asked as she once again was rebuffed by a tearful Mami, as much as she tried Tsume was just not getting though.

"If you couldn't persuade Mami to talk Tsume then I was going to ask Inoichi to probe Mamis mind, it was the only thing I could think of" At hearing this Naoki stopped his creeping and turned to growl at the Hokage behind her desk, he snorted at the older women before he took a few firm steps and nuzzled his wet nose into Mamis leg, offering what comfort he could.

"Can't you see this mission has put a lot of stress on Mami…" Tsume started as she looked to her daughter.

"I don't care, we need this information now. I will take it by force if we have to"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING…" Mami screamed as her piercing eyes turned to the Hokage, her emoticons snapped and all of hell broke lose as the girl glared at the women behind her desk "…YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO CHASE THAT CRIMINAL AROUND THE WORLD AND END UP WHERE YOU STARTED, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO SEE THE TRAIL OF DEAD BODYS HE LEFT BEHIND. YOU KNOW NOTHING"

"Don't you shout at me…" Tsunade warned as her eyes glaring at the shouting girl "…you have ten seconds to tell us what really happened or I will have you thrown into Konoha Strict Correctional Facility"

"Wait…" Tsume urged as she looked at Lady Tsunade and then at her daughter. It was what was known as a light bulb moment, everything fell into place and Tsume now knew why Mami was so upset "…did you send Mami to track…HIM?" His name was taboo within the Inuzuka family, he was often referred to as him or that git.

"Yes I did send her after…"

"Don't…" Shizune interrupted as she held the file in her hands tightly "…don't say his name"

"Do you really know what it was like?" Mami whispered in a deadly voice as she had a maddening smile on her face, her beast looked up at the Hokage and her true pain shinned like a million stars.

"Yes I do…" The Hokage replied calmly as she looked into Mamis dark orbs "…I have read your report"

"The report is nothing like it was being there…" Mami whispered "…why don't you look at my file, it will tell you everything you need to know and maybe you will stop seeing things that aren't there. I can tell you know this mission was a blast from the past but there was one difference like you know, the girl got lucky, she died" Mami smiled calmly as she turned to walk out of the Hokages office with Naoki right by her side, Mami gave a quick bow to the room before disappearing.

"Shizune get me Mami's file" Lady Tsunade called as she watched the door slam behind the distressed kunoichi.

"No need malady…" Tsume interrupted as she stepped forward with a look of sadness in her eyes, she quickly looked back at the now closed door before turning back to the Hokage "…I will tell you everything" She said with a sad sigh.

"Did you want me to leave Tsume?" Inoichi asked as he stepped towards the door.

"No it's ok, you know the whole story anyway"

XxX

How had everything gone so wrong when last night had been so good, the guy that she liked had kissed her and he asked her out, he really asked her out. Mami couldn't believe that Shikamaru liked her back. They kissed some more last night and he never pushed to go further then that, he was just happy sitting there kissing Mami like there was no tomorrow; Shikamaru just blew her away.

Mami was running though the busy streets of Konohagakure with Naoki beside her as always, Mami couldn't stop, she didn't want to stop; Running had always made her feel better but now it didn't help at all. Why had everything gone wrong. With that thought in mind Mami pushed herself to run a little faster, she wanted to see Shikamaru or even Choji but she run right into a pair of fellow kunoichi instead.

"Mami?" A timid voice wheezed as Hinata propped herself up, the three of them were in a tangled mess on the dusty, hard dirt as Naoki padded around the heap. Mami said nothing as she just laid there.

"What on earth is going on?" Tenten asked as she heaved herself out of the tangled mess and lay off to the side, herself and Hinata were quite happily shopping and chatting when a body ran into them.

"I think there's something wrong with Mami…" Hinata whispered as she lifted herself off the ground, she watched as Mami just lay there her eyes wide as they looked at nothing "…she ran into us and is just laying there" The two women shared a confused look before they went to help the frozen kunoichi, Mami just lay there on the dusty ground as long streaks of salty tears ran down her face as, her eyes unfocused and blank as they stared forward.

"Mami?" Tenten whispered as she gently placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, Mami just lay there not paying any attention to the women with her; Naoki nudged her with his wet nose and let out a pitiful wine but she still didn't move.

"Why don't you take Mami to her flat…" Hinata suggested as she looked up the street and the direction Mami had just come from, she quickly looked back to her companion to see the confused look on Tentens face "…I just need to quickly do something"

"Ok" Tenten said as she looked unsure, what did Hinata have to do so suddenly? With a heave and some help from Naoki Tenten managed to get Mami onto her feet and half dragged her towards her flat, Naoki leapt behind the two watching on with worried dark eyes.

Hinata watched the mismatched group with a gentle smile before she turned and ran towards the Hokages office, with each step a new thought came into her mind. Why was Mami so upset? Why was Mami running? Where was she running? What was Mami running from? At the end of each thought there was only one answer, Lady Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade…" Hinata all but growled as she stormed into the office, the doors flying back from the force of her shove. Tsume Inuzuka was sitting in a chair in front of the desk with a look of distress on her face and tears in her eyes as Inoichi Yamanaka was standing beside her, comforting Tsume the best he could, Shizune was standing beside the Hokage with a look of shock on her face as the Hokage herself was sat behind her desk.

"What is it Miss Hyuga" Lady Tsunade huffed as she glanced at the female shinobi in the doorway.

"You have some nerve…" Hinata hissed as she glared at the older women "…I just happened to see Mami a moment ago and she is upset beyond belief, she didn't even register that she had run into anyone let alone answer them. WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Hinata shouted as she pointed an accusing finger at the Hokage, she was visibly shaking with anger as her clear lavender eyes watched Lady Tsunade behind her desk.

"This is bad…" Tsume whispered as she stood from the chair, her face focusing on noting as they darted around "…I better go and see if Mami is alright" The women muttered more to herself as she left the room, she didn't bow or wave to anyone as the door closed behind her, Tsumes mind was to occupied at the moment.

"Well?" Hinata asked as Inoichi chased after Tsume with a look of worry on his face.

"This has nothing to do with you" The Hokage spat as she glared at the young kunoichi.

"I may not know what's going on but I can tell when a good friend is struggling to keep her sanity…" Hinata screamed as she stormed over to the desk and slammed her hands down on the hard wood "…a shinobi can't tell anyone any details of a mission unless they are part of it. Mami was on her own and whatever happened on the mission she went though a lot of emotional and mental stress, Mami is falling apart and no one can help her as we don't know the circumstances…" Hinata was on the verge of begging as she whispered the last words out "…you need to lay off so her mind and body can heal can't you give the poor woman a break for once"

"Ok…" Lady Tsunade sighed after a long tense pause filled the room "…I will 'lay off' Mami for the time being, I need a word with her once we have both calmed down" The Hokage shoved her chair back against the wall as she got up, her eyes looked sad as she watched Hinata stand there before her.

"Malady…" Shizune half asked as the small pink pig waddled happily around the room.

"Shizune I feel bad enough as it is…" The two older women forgot Hinata still standing there as they talked "…after hearing what happened it's no big surprise Mami would react that way. Get me Miu, I need a word with her"


	6. Girls day

Chapter 5: Girls day

"Another sunny day when I'm in another crappy mood" Mami sighed as she looked out the window at the bright blue sky, the suns golden rays shining down into the hidden leaf as the children played in the falling autumn leaves. With it now being October the seasons were changing and the leaves that once covered the trees were now turning into bright oranges and reds before falling to the ground. Mami loved autumn, it was her favourite season. Yes autumn was chillier then summer but it was warmer then winter, the leaves were starting to fall and the bright colours would dance in the sunlight as they descend to the ground, the trees would then look bare but then they would blossom the following spring.

There were times when Mami wanted that to do that, to shed her leaves for the winter and become a new person in the spring.

After her argument with the Hokage yesterday Mami had been in a really foul mood, she would snap at any little thing that went wrong and it didn't help that Shikamaru got called away for a mission so they had to cancel their plans, stupid Hokage. Mami could make some plans, maybe Ino was back or she could see if Sakura fancied going out for lunch but Mami just couldn't get the drive to be in a good mood for company.

She was upset, pissed off and desperately wanted to see Shikamaru. It seamed like to much effort to do anything but mope, so Mami planed to spend the day in her pyjamas and sulk around the flat, however fate intervened when there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Mami called as she threw her fluffy and warm dressing gown on.

"It's Hinata…" A small voice called though the wood "…Lady Tsunade has a mission for you" Mami snorted, just what she needed, a mission. With a huff the moody women opened the front door to see her bothers team-mate. Hinata was a very shy women; always had been, but you could see some of Naruto had rubbed off, her pale lavender eyes were wide with innocence and happiness as she waited.

"What is it this time?" Mami moped as she took the slip of paper Hinata handed her and unfolded the sheet to see where she was going next. Mami just wasn't in the mood for this, missions, the Hokage, anything.

"I know she can be a bit rough at times but just know that Lady Tsunade does feel guilty after badgering you for so long" Hinata whispered as she pressed her index fingers together, a habit the woman had developed since she was young. Mami could see the women was worried so to calm her nerves she smiled kindly.

"Would you like to come in?" Mami asked softly as she moved to the side to let the small female into her abode. Mami suddenly wanted some company, someone to laugh and joke with.

"It's ok, I don't want to bother you" Mami just sighed at Hinatas politeness, she was the Hyuga heiress after all.

"You have been on a team with my brother for how long? You should know by now that us of the Inuzuka family say what we think, if I had a problem with you coming in I wouldn't have asked. Now get in here" Mami joked as she tugged the small women into her flat.

"Thanks…" Hinata wavered as she was shoved into a spot on the sofa soon followed by Naoki jumping on the poor girl and covering her in his slobber "…down boy" Naoki did as he was told and sat there waiting for the guest to give him a fuss, when she didn't Naoki lifted his red giant paw and placed in on her leg.

"Now lets see what we have here…" Mami jested as she placed two mugs of hot brown liquid on the table.

"What is this?" Hinata asked as she sniffed at the mugs contents, it was a little to thick to be tea and to creamy to be coffee.

"I was on a mission three years ago in the Land of Tea and came across this, I gave it a go and now I try to get some every time I pass though. It's called hot chocolate"

"Hot chocolate" Hinata repeated as she looked a little confused, Mami opened the slip of paper with a small smile on her lips.

"Take a break…" Mami read out loud as she sipped on her hot drink "…you are to go to the hot springs at the top of the village, ask for Miu and show her this note. You can take two other people to go with you. Have fun"

"That does sound like a nice mission" Hinata said with a smile, she was still hesitant about trying the drink as she held it in her hands.

"Don't drink it if you don't want to Hinata…" Mami said as she thought though possible partners to take "…don't be polite just for me"

"No it's ok I will try it…" To prove her point Hinata took a small sip after blowing it cool. The look on her face was priceless "…that's really good" The small female had a smile on her face and then proceeded to gulp the whole mug down in seconds, another Naruto trait.

"Do you have any plans today?" Mami asked gulping hers down just as fast.

"No it don't…" Hinata answered as she rubbed Naokis favourite spot, right behind his left ear. With a brush of her fingers Hinata caught a nerve and Naokis back legs started to twitch much to the amusement of the women"…why do you ask?"

"Would you like to come with me on this 'mission'?"

"No…" Hinata stuttered as she nearly dropped her mug "…I couldn't possibly, you could invite someone else…"

"Stop…" Mami interrupted with a smile "…the reason I ask is because today I'm in a really bad mood and your someone who is always happy and besides you said you had no plans, I'm sure you have been training really hard recently. Us girls need a break every once in a while" Mami did her best puppy dog eyes as she pouted, this look could get her anything she wanted.

"I would love to"

XxX

"Come on Naoki" Mami called once they were ready to go, with a twist of the wrist the flat was locked and the two kunoichi went to get the third member of the group.

The two made their way though the market towards Mamis family home, the first born male would normally stay and would inherit the house after his parents death and Kiba was no different, their mother was still alive and kicking but she had a small place built in the garden and moved in there; she had everything she needed and if not it was a two second trip to the main house.

To fill the time Hinata and Mami talked, nothing in particular came up but they chatted as they walked to the Inuzuka household, as the two walked though the gate Kiba looked up. A smile spread across the males cheeks as he saw the two walk into the compound, he was truly happy to see the them as he sat in front of the house, his three month son Hiroto gurgled in his arms.

"Hay Mami and Hinata are here…" He called into the house as Akamaru came bounding up, he greeted the with his normal boundless energy"…how you both doing?"

"Could be better" Mami replied as she gave Akamaru a belly rub, his foot kept twitching as Mami caught a nerve in her rubbing.

"I'm fine thanks Kiba" Hinata answered as she stood there looking a little out of place, Hinata had been raised a little differently to the Inuzuka laid back attitude so Hinata always felt a little unsure when she came to the main household.

"How is my little nephew doing?" Mami asked cheerfully as she came over to see the small bundle.

"Just fine" Kiba laughed as he sat on the bench just outside the front door with a bottle in his hand, Hiroto was snuggled up in his warm blanket as Kiba gave him his morning feed in the falling leaves.

"He getting his fathers appetite as you can see…" Ino joked as she came out with a smile on her face, her son happily sucking on the bottle "…good to see you both, we never got to talk after I got back a few days ago"

"Don't worry I'm here to rectify that…" Mami said as she pulled funny faces at the little one as he fed "…I got a mission from Lady Tsunade to go to the hot springs and take two people with me, did you want to come?"

"You know I would love to Mami but it's not fair to Kiba…"

"Just go already…" Kiba interrupted as he put Hiroto on his shoulder to burp him "…I have no problem spending even more time with my son"

"It's only for the day and it's a pamper day" Mami moaned softly as she tried to convince th blonde women with her big puppy dog eyes.

"Stop that…" Ino protested as she shock her head "…are you sure Kiba?" Ino asked as she affectingly rubbed Hirotos back helping him to bring up a rather load burp.

"You're are just up the road if I need you, now go" Ino just had to laugh at her husband when she looked at him to see the same puppy dog eyes on his face.

"Family trait I take it…" Ino laughed as she kissed Kiba on the forehead "…please refrain from teaching that to our son"

"Come on you two…" Kiba called as he swiftly stood up with Hiroto safely in his arms "…if you want to wrestle around then go out back" Akamaru and Naoki leapt up from their play fight and ran past Kiba into the house, they all had to laugh at the dogs antics as they rushed to the garden.

XxX

"There's nothing like a good pamper day with the girls is there" Ino stated as the three of them got changed into the fluffy white robes provided. Turns out Miu was a kind older lady with greying hair, she smiled when the three arrived and when she was shown the letter she whisked them away into a private area which few could afford. The women where shown where to change and then informed to ring the bell when they were ready.

"I wonder what's going to happen" Hinata pondered as they sat waiting for Miu to return.

"Don't know but I can't wait, my body has been screaming for some attention for the last six months" Mami stretched her body out trying to work out some kinks, her feet never poking out the end of the robe.

"I bet it has" Ino suggested as her blonde eyebrows wiggled.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Mami joked but she didn't get a reply as Miu walked into the room, she bowed to the group before her as she smiled kindly.

"If you would like to follow me ladies then we will get the day started"

"Excuse me…" Hinata whispered as she swiftly lifted herself off the floor"…but what are we doing today?"

"Well first you will take a nice relaxing bath in our hot springs before moving on to the stuff you are here for, massages, facials, manicures and pedicures" Miu's blue eyes smiled kindly as the three were lead around the building.

"This is amazing…" Ino gushed as she dumped her white robe in a pile on the damp floor and bombed into the hot water "…come in the waters great" Ino said as she splashed around, the place was huge, all you could see was steaming water.

"This part of the hot spring is privately owned and you can only bathe here with an invitation from the Hokage" Miu explained with a smile on her face.

"You mean the Hokage owns this spring" Mami confirmed as Hinata slipped calmly into to the thrashing water.

"Yes she does, its really only herself and miss Shizune that bathe here"

"What's keeping you?" Ino hollowed as she settled down in the warm water.

"Coming" Mami replied. She gave Miu a thankful nod before walking to the waters edge, the older lady excused herself as Mami watched the two already in the water, once they looked away Mami quickly took off her robe and got into the liquid bliss however her plan didn't work the way Mami wanted.

"Oh gosh…" Hinata gasped as she turned towards Mami, her lavender eyes easily making out the scars that covered Mami from neck to toe "…what happened?"

"Nothing" Mami dismissed as she sank into the water so only her head was showing, her eyes a blank wall of darkness as she looked at the two women with her.

"What do you mean nothing…" Ino stated as the naked women waddled over to Mami "…these can't be nothing" Ino lifted Mamis left arm to prove her point, Mami just shoved her arm back under the water and hugged it close.

"It's nothing"

"Nothing my ass…" Ino stood there with a scowl on her face and her hands on her hips, she looked to Mamis arms and then back at Mamis eyes waiting "…well, explain"

"Look Ino, Hinata please don't tell anyone…" Mami begged as she looked down with shame shining in her eyes as small tears built up "…these are from my past, a past I can't forget so please don't tell anyone you saw these" Slowly Mami lifted her arm back up; there was a pale thin line that started by the side of her armpit and slowly ran down to the crease of her elbow and down to her wrist.

"That's why you are always covered…" Hinata exclaimed "…you don't want anyone to know"

"I have always had a low self esteem, if anyone else knew about my scars then…" Mami gently ran the tips of her fingers along her clans mark on her face, they started just above her eyebrows and ran though the eyes to curve over the cheeks and finish near her jaw line "…well I don't know what I would do"

"Mami…" Ino whispered "…why didn't you say anything before"

"Just look at me…" Mami exclaimed as she stood in the water with despair clearly written on her face, from the arms down Mamis skin was covered with thin pales lines that looked like lots of little spider webs embedded in her skin, Mami turned around so the two could see the huge scar that ran across her back "…I'm a freak and a monster, I look like I've been in a blender. Men would turn tail and run just like Shikamaru will when he sees this" Mami gestured to her body as her good mood took a nose dive, no man would ever what a women who was scared inside and out.

"Wait back up…" Hinata stressed she looked Mami right in the eyes "…are you telling us that you're with Shikamaru" Hinata looked towards Ino who was now beside her looking just as shocked, the two women shared a quick look before their eyes looked back to the distressed women.

"You mean to tell me that Shikamaru, my team mate is going out with you. When did this happen and why wasn't I informed?"

"It's still a new thing…" Mami whispered as she blushed a light shade of pink "…it's only been two days since he asked me out"

"That is still two days to late"

"Please…" Mami begged "…we don't want anyone to know so don't tell anyone"

"Don't worry…" Hinata comforted with a soft smile as she gently placed her arm around Mami "…what's said on a girl day stays on girl day"

A.N. Sorry for the long wait, I was having trouble with one of my other stories but now that its finished (YAY) I can work on this again. I have written up to chapter nine so it shouldn't be to long untill the next chapter. Hope you enjoyied and hope to hear what you think.


	7. Back to school

Chapter 6: Back to school

One week, it had been exactly one week since Mami and Naoki had come back home to the leaf village and a lot had happened in that time. After a two day long sleep Mami had been summoned to the Hokages office over and over again, going over every little detail over and over again. It was maddening, driving the women to breaking point when the Hokage had nothing to go on, not a single scrap of detail to go after the horrid man Mami was sent to follow.

After a long and tense day of more questioning Isamu decided to hit on Mami to which he got a reply of a hurt foot and a door in the face, Mami was rather pissed after that and it was not long after that a bloody Shikamaru turned up at her door. It was then that the evening got confusing, there was kisses and misunderstandings until Shikamaru finally confessed his feelings.

Mami was on a blissful high the next day as she went to see the Hokage, the women was still stubborn and was convinced that Mami was hiding something so after a shouting match Mami ran out of the office only to bump into Hinata and Tenten, Mami had a complete breakdown in her flat to which she was thankful no one was there.

After a long and sleepless night Hinata showed up with a 'mission' for Mami, it took a bit of convincing but finally Hinata gave in and the two of them plus Ino went to the hot springs for a girl day. Which was how Mami could be found in the market.

It was a to nice a day to be coped up in the restricting walls of Mamis little flat, the sun was out, the birds were singing, the leaves were turning their bright colours and a slight breeze whispered though the village making it an almost perfect day. The mid day sun shined down on the Leaf village and warmed the exposed skin of Mamis shoulders as she and Naoki strolled though the lunch time market, quite often Mami would find little trinkets she had seen on her travels from other lands; today there was nothing new.

There was nothing much to do this afternoon, Mami was having Tenten and Hinata round for a sorry for running into you dinner and that was all the plans she had.

"MAMI" A deep voice shouted as a tanned hand waved in her direction, Mami turned to the call to see the brown hair of her old sensei, the scar that ran along the bridge of his nose would give him away anywhere.

"Iruka, what's up?" Mami called back with a wave of her own, Iruka dodged though the growing crowd of the market and finally caught up with the young kunoichi, he had to catch his breath for a moment but when he did Iruka looked frustrated.

"I'm sorry to bother you but can you do me a huge favour" Iruka asked as he righted himself to look down at Mami, Iruka towered over Mamis small frame but it was just the same with everyone; Mami was on the smaller side so it was no surprise.

"What did you need me to do?" Mami queried as Naoki pawed at Irukas large feet, he wanted to play with the older male but Iruka was having none of it.

"I was hoping to teach the class about working with ninja animals but your sister had to duck out at the last minute, the class is meant to start after lunch so I have been running round trying to find someone to help..." While he was speaking Iruka had a look of slight panic on his face as he looked around, his hands batting the playful dog away "…I have no one to talk about ninja hounds, I was thinking of asking Kotetsu Hagane but I hoped I would bump into you. Please say you are free this afternoon"

"Sure I can do it no problem, I had no plans anyway" Mami agreed with a smile on her face, the worried look on Irukas face soon turned into a face splitting smile.

"Thank you Mami, you have no idea what a wonder you are" With his large hands Iruka held Mamis in his own before gripping her wrist and running back towards the academy, Mami struggled to keep up but Naoki loved it as he bounded along with his tongue lopping out the side of his mouth. It only took three minutes of running to get back to the academy and it brought all the memories flooding back, they were not all good ones at that. Naoki could sense his masters sadness and pined in sympathy, Mami just smiled at her fluffy partner.

When Iruka didn't let go Mami got a little confused and was about to ask why when she was flung into the classroom with Naoki following behind, the two tumbled towards the other side of the room where Shino and a group of other shinobi waited.

"Hi" Mami waved pleasantly as Naoki bounced into the back of her legs causing the young kunoichi to fall into the group.

"Hay, watch it mutt girl" A shrill voice screamed as a purple haired women leapt out of the way. No one would have guessed that Ami would have made it though the academy let alone become a kunoichi, she was the bully of the school and quite often caused problems within the group if she didn't get her way. Ami had short shoulder length purple hair with a single bang that came right down to her bust, she wore a pair of black shinobi bottoms with a long purple dress like top, there was a split down ether side and a big pink ribbon tied across her body.

"Sorry my bad" Mami apologised as she shoved herself off the floor, Naoki looked down ashamed as his tail went dipped between his legs.

"It was an accident, no need to apologise" Shino calmly stated as he looked the other way. Shino had relatively stayed the same as he did in his younger years, the same brooding look with his dark sunglasses and blue headband, he always had his lower face covered with some kind of fabric but it wasn't a mask like Kakashis.

"Bug boy, keep your bugs away from me" Ami squealed as a single bug fluttered her way, she flapped her arms around trying to shoo it away.

"That's not one of mine Ami, nothing I can do" Shino said with a hint of a smile hiding behind the fabric of his coat, Mami had to hide a giggle as Iruka came into the room with his class following behind. The young ninja in training laughed and happily chatted as they all tumbled in and took their seats ready for class to begin, Mami could remember being that small and how scared she was when it was her first day.

It was nice seeing the next generation of ninja ready to learn and with a smile of fondness Mami faced the front.

"As you can all see we have some visitors in class today…" Iruka started as he gestured to the group of older ninja at the back of the classroom with a wave of his hand "…they are here to talk out the ninja animals they work with. Not many ninja will have an animal partner as few are born with the compatibility of working with an animal, if you do you will mostly likely know already but if not hopefully today will help. I would like all of you to listen to what our guests have to say and all questions will be answered at the end" With this Iruka stepped away from his desk at the front of the class and the first shinobi handler came forward.

The first handler was from the bird division and he droned on in his plain and boring voice about his feathered friend, he talked about how they fly, what they can do and so on; within half an hour most of the class had fallen asleep and even a few of the older ninja had to. There were no questions about the bird division so it swiftly moved onto the next ninja animal, bugs.

Shino stepped forward in his normal stoic way and stood at the front of the room, the air he was giving off showed this talk was going to be long and boring just like the one before but he surprised everyone by raising his arms, with a small but mischievous smile on his face Shino let his bugs loose. The small swam of bugs flew around the room covering everyone, many of the females squealed with degust but only two in the room laughed their heads off in delight; Mami was at the back of the room holding onto her sides with laughter as Naoki bounced around trying to catch the small flying insets.

After a few minutes of this Shino called his mini army back and proceed to tell the room about his fantastic bugs, the room clapped and cheered once Shino had finished and walked back between the rows of students to get to the back of the room.

Next it was Ami, she swayed to the front of the room with a smile on her face as her feline partner crawled around the room. Ami started off her explanation by telling them what cats can do, how they are the main animal used for stealth and how they are over all better then dogs, Ami then looked up at Mami with a smug grin on her face. Ami's cat was smaller then average and you could hear her deep breathing as she hid within the rafters above the students, so much for stealth.

"Where do you think my ninja cat is?" Ami asked the class as she stood proudly at the front, straight away a student raised their hand and with a small smile pointed up to the rafters exactly were the black cat then fell to the floor.

"Just there sensei" The sliver haired boy laughed, Ami looked really putout when her cat was found so easily but being her normal self Ami tried to cover this with a smile and some praise.

"Well done, you must have good hearing to find my cat like that" Ami praised as she smiled kindly at the ninja in training, her feline partner scampered along to jump onto her mistress shoulder.

"What was that sensei?" The young boy called as he lent forward, making a show of not being able to hear Ami.

"That's enough Sakumo" Iruka warned as he sat to the side of the room, his eyes watching the playful boy. Ami was stood their with her face slowly turning to a light shade of pink, her dark eyes glaring at the child.

"Yes Iruka sensei" The boy sighed as he sat back down in his seat, his silver haired sister was sat beside him trying not to burst out laughing just like Mami was doing in the back of the class.

It was three hours from the moment Mami was pulled though the class door before she had her chance to talk, as she walked down the steps between the rows of students she thought of how she could begin her talk. There had been birds, bugs, cats, pigs, horses and even rabbits. With a small sigh Mami was at the front of the class, she quickly turned to look at all the students when three in particular that jumped out at her, Sakumo, Emi and Den the three Hatake triplets. Mami knew them well and smiled at the three when an idea came to mind.

"Just like Iruka sensei said some ninja are born with the ability to work with animal counterparts, my name is Mami and I'm here to talk to you today about ninja hounds or dogs if you prefer. I have a ninja hound called Naoki and we have been together since birth…" Realising his name had been called Naoki startled awake and jumped up from his sleeping spot at the back of the room, he then run forward to catch up to his mistress and lost his footing as he scrambled down the stairs, he tumbled down the last few steps to land in a heap on the floor

"…he is a mad as a hatter but I wouldn't have him any other way. Naoki can't fly like birds can, he can't be millions within a swarm like bugs, he can't be as quiet as a mouse like cats can, he can't run as fast as horses, he can't eat his way though a wall like rabbits can and he can't wallow in mud like a pig but a ninja hound can do and be so much more…" Naoki detangled himself much to the amusement of the class and happily bounded up to Mami, he licked her hand in greeting before he sat back and watched with his tongue hanging out of his mouth

"…dogs are very much like people, each one has their own likes, dislikes and personality's, sometimes a dog pared with a ninja wont work and that is because they are nothing alike and their not compatible with each other. Dogs are always loyal to the person they fight with and sometimes the people their partners love most, they will do anything for their partner even if it means getting hurt themselves…" Mami stopped for a brief moment as Naoki bounced up, he trotted along the row at front of the class with his nose to the ground, he walked up and down before he dipped his head in one of the students bags, he came back with a huge green ball in his mouth

"…as you can see when you aren't fighting dogs are always there and will be whatever you need from them, dogs can do jobs from fetching the morning newspaper to guarding your family and home, but the job they are mostly called up for is tracking, they have super sensitive noses that can pick up the smallest trace of a scent. If any of you find a ninja hound that is willing to be your partner you have found a campaign for life" Once she had finished talking Naoki dropped the ball at his masters feet wanting to play, instead he got a rub behind the ears as Mami picked up the fuzzy ball and threw it back to the owner.

"Are there any questions?" Iruka asked as a hand raised in the air.

"With the markings on your face Mami sensei does that mean your are of the Inuzuka clan?" A timid voice asked as their young brown eyes shined with wonder.

"Why yes I am, I'm the youngest of the three siblings, my brother Kiba is a year older then me and my sister Hana is six years older. Hana is the only one of us to have three hound partners, the three Haimaru brothers. Most hound dogs are around Naokis size but there are some like my mums partner Kuromaru that are bigger and some of which are smaller"

"Do you need a special kind of jutsu to work with Naoki?" An excited voice asked as they waved a hand in the air, with a smile Mami silently asked Iruka if she could quickly explain the basics to them, when she got a nod she turned back to face the class.

"Before you leave the academy you will all learn about the five types of chakra, you

don't need any particular one to work with ninja animals. You don't really need any special jutsu but yes you will need to learn some techniques to work fully with your partner when in battle"

"Can you show us one?" Emi asked with a smile on her face, Mami was unsure but Iruka once again nodded, she shrugged before calling Naoki over; he had once again gone looking for the ball. He barked happily before he ran over and slipped his body though Mamis legs, once she was safely sat upon his large furry back Mami moved her hands to perform a few hand seals.

"Man beast clone" She called as a cloud of thick smoke covered them both, the room looked confused and worried at first but when the cloud cleared they all laughed with wonder. Standing at the front of the class was Mami with a hand on her hip next to a Mami with a hand on her hip, there were two. The class cheered and laughed when the two Mami's did some tricks and started to run around, everyone saw double until one Mami ran into a wall and with a puff of smoke chanced back to Naoki.

"Settle down now class…" Iruka called as he moved from his seat, his hands waving the group at the back down "… can I call all of our guests down here so we can all thank them for taking the time to talk to us today" The whole class cheered and clapped as the seven guests and six animals came down to the front; the horse was to big to come, Mami was stood at the end with a big smile on her face as she bowed. Mami had a lot of fun today and buy the looks of it Naoki did to. Ami looked as smug as ever as she stood on the other end of the line, she bowed to but the black cat of hers fell off her shoulder, with the sudden movement Naoki glanced over to see what it was.

"No Naoki" Mami scolded as she tried to grasp onto his blue collar, she knew that look of playfulmess in his eyes but she wasn't quick enough to stop to large buddle of fluff as Naoki leapt from Mamis grasp and chased the hissing black cat around, the students screamed as they jumped out the way, books were flying and chairs were knocked over as Mami chased her partner around.

"Keep that filthy mutt away from us…" Ami screamed as her cat finally found safety in her owners arms, Naoki was pinned down under the weight of the Hatake triplets who all had smiles on their worn out faces "…I have no idea where he has been"

"I'm sorry Ami, he has never done that before" Mami apologised as Naoki tried to wiggle his was to freedom.

"A dangerous animal like that should be put down" Mami took a step forward once again trying to apologise and explain he had never chased an animal before but Ami wasn't having it. The students were all huddled at the back of the classroom and now that there was no danger from being trampled by the stampeding dog it looked comical, the room laughed at the image of a large dog chasing a cat while being chased by his owner.

"Ami…"

"…keep away from me you scared freak" There was an echoing slap around the room as Amis hand caught Mami in the face. Mami stood there shocked as she raised a hand to her now reddening cheek, the laughter stopped dead in it's tracks as the triplets and some of the other students went to protest; Ami was out the room before they could even open their mouths. Well Mami and Naoki were having a good day.


	8. Start the mission of the sand

Chapter 7: Start the mission of the sand

Mami let out a big drawn out sigh as she wondered the slightly chilly streets of Konohagakure in the early morning, she was left confused and a little bit fazed as Mami headed towards the big green gates she had first arrived though nine days ago. Nine days, that was all the rest Mami had from her six month mission before she was once again sent out on an important mission. This mission however seamed to be simple enough but then again so did many, the short version consisted of Mami going in a team of three others to deliver an important document to the Kazekage of the Sand village; in other words Gaara.

But that wasn't what left the young kunoichi confused, Lady Tsunade had apologised. In her own words 'I was being a little to hasty', since when does the Hokage of the Leaf Village apologise, she never had been known to apologise before.

"Over here" The ever cheerful Choji called as a big red fluff ball came into view, one of his hands clutching onto a bag of snacks as his other hand waved in the air. Mami was looking forward to working in a team again but when she saw Choji standing there she couldn't help but smile, this would be a fun mission.

"Hay Choji…" Mami greeted as she wondered over to the waving shinobi and close friend "…guess we're working together.

"Sure are" Choji smiled as he patted Naoki on the head, when Mami wasn't looking Choji offered some of his snacks to the waiting ninja hound who licked him in return.

"So who else is joining us?" Mami asked as she turned to look back, her long hair flipping over her shoulder as her eyes watched the two carefully.

"Not sure really…" Choji mussed as his hand rummaged round in the half empty bag "…hopefully Shino and Hinata"

"Hello ladies…" A smooth voice called as a pig headed male strolled round the corner into sight "…looks like I have the pleasure of working with you both on this wonderful mission" Isamu came over with his normal panty dropping smile and making himself look bigger swagger as he threw his arms around Mami and Choji, a lust like glint in his steel grey eyes.

"Hell no…" Mami moaned as she shrugged Isamus large arm off her, this was just what Mami needed "…just once I would like a mission where there are no pricks" Mami half screamed as she stormed around, she paced back and forth in front of Choji and Isamu who gave her a dirty look once he realised who he was with. Choji gave a small slightly inaudible snort from under Isamus other arm which made Mamis lips twitch into a smile.

Not one to be defeated easily by a girl Isamu turned to Choji with a smile.

"Oh Isamu you charmer" Choji gushed in a high pitched voice as he pretended to hide his nonexistent blush. Mami burst into tears of laughter when she noticed the look of utter shock and horror on Isamus face as he looked at the all male Choji, his arm jumped off Chojis shoulder as if he had been burned as he took a few steps back.

"Better…luck next…time" Mami gasped as she supported herself from falling onto the dusty floor.

"Was it the hair?" Choji asked as he flipped his long brown locks with a flourish, a flirty smile on his face as he fluttered his dark eyes.

"WHAT…" A shrill voice screeched as a purple headed harpy came strolling round the corner, her eyes instantly locking onto Mami who was gasping for breath; she gave Mami a piercing glare as her eyes narrowed "…why do I have to work with you?"

"Because if you don't then you can't go on another mission…" A voice called as a pair of heels clacked along the paved floor "…ever" Lady Tsunade added as an after thought, her sharp amber eyes watching the four ninja and the two ninja animals waiting by the huge village gates as she grew steadily closer, Tsunade had the important document tightly clasped in her hand and was judging who should be leader of the group and be in charge of the scroll.

Ami was standing there with a look of utter degust on her face as she glanced at a gasping Mami, she was to whiney and she complained about everything so she was out. Isamu was a flirt and winked at the Hokage as she looked his way, he made the older woman's skin crawl so he's gone. Mami was taking deep calming breaths as she clutched onto Naokis back, he pined in encouragement as Mami finally got her breath back. Choji however just stood there in the middle of the mess with a kind smile on his face, he seamed to be waiting for the others to get them self's together before moving an inch. Bingo.

"But lady Tsunade…" Ami wined as she took a step forward, a look of protest in her eyes.

"That's enough…" The Hokage snapped, her piercing eyes moving to the younger women "…I will not hear another word out of you until you have returned from the mission" Ami shut her mouth rather quickly and bowed her head in respect.

"Yes malady, sorry malady"

"Sorry to interrupt but we need to be on our way malady" Choji softly muttered as he gestured to the open gates, the Hokages eyes following Chojis hand as he pointed towards the exit of the village. The Hokage had been in charge of Konohagakure for many years now but it was well known that the Hokage herself could be distracted when it involved her temper or drink of any kind, Tsunade knew she had made the right choice.

"I Hokage of Konohagakure am appointing you Choji Akimichi to be the leader on this mission, you will be in charge of your piers and of the document so keep it with you at all times…" With a soft smile Tsunade handed the thin envelope to Choji, he happily excepted the document with a nod "…you now have a three day trip ahead of you, use this time wisely. Good luck" With the document now safely stashed in Chojis amour the four bowed to the Hokage before taking off, they quickly dashed onto the worn path that marked the start of their mission.

"I can't believe we have three days of travel before we get to Sunagakure…" Mami gushed as the padding of feet brought up a lose layer of dirt along the track"…it's been to long" Naoki barked in agreement as his paws flew across the dusty track, it had been to long since the two had seen the huge sandy walls that surrounded the sun baked village.

"It has always been three days to get the sand village, you should know that better then anyone" Ami snipped as Princess rode on her mistresses shoulder, the two quite happily running behind Isamu as he followed Mami and Naoki. Mami turned back to glare at a happy Ami at the back of the group, her smug smile annoyed Mami to no end as Amis eyes gleamed with triumph.

"I forgot you were a good friend of Temaris" Choji cut in as an uncomfortable silence descended onto the group.

"Did you now…" Mami wondered aloud as her eyes moved onto Chojis back "…or was it cut the tension?"

"Well…a little of both" The bulky man admitted with a small smile. Trust Choji to be the tension breaker.

XxX

The sliver beams of moonlight whispered though the bending tree tops; the leaves dancing in the chilly wind that night brought in the winter months, the slivery light cast a eerie glow on the temporary camp as a lone ninja and her ninja hound stood guard.

The camp was nothing special, just a pile of burning logs in the middle of a small clearing as three sleeping bags huddled around it, the fire itself provided little heat to the huddling ninja as it was used for more practical reasons; to filter the grit and muck from the river water, making it safe to drink. Not that Ami would drink it, not with the look on her face when Choji first suggested it. How did the purple haired woman become a ninja Mami would never know.

The forest which the group of ninja now resided in was located in the hottest part of fire country, it was always full with life, it didn't matter what the time of year was. It was mid October and the honey bees buzzed happily in brightly coloured flowers, birds sang in the whispering tree tops and lizards lay in the afternoon sun, absorbing the rays before night fell; soon the afternoon heat would fade and the chilly night would set in. ANBU trained ninja could run for days without any need for food or water but regular old ninja had to stop every once in a while for a rest, that was a downside to being a ninja. You would always spend ninety nine percent of the time travelling on a mission.

An tattered book lay open in Mami's lap, a pen held tightly in her grasp as her eyes looked over the empty page, this wasn't any random book that Mami had oh no, it was her memory book. This book was handed to Mami by the Sandaime Hokage when she was five, he instructed the small girl to write her memories in this book, the memories of her two years away from the village.

Not that she could forget the painful memories that were burned into her brain, refusing to leave the poor girl alone; Mami had lost count of just how many nightmares she had to witness. Over and over again the memories would replay in her mind and just as she was instructed Mami wrote very single one down in this book.

With a few strokes of her pen Mami finished writing down her latest memory, the one that refused to leave her the most.

A snap of a fallen twig alerted the young female that there was someone around, in a blur of movement Mami was on her feet with a kunai gripped tightly in her hand, her sharp eyes looked out into the darkness, she could see nothing as they moved from shadow to shadow. Every flicker of movement set Mami on edge as she flared her chakra, she could feel someone watching her, watching them.

Eyes, Mami could feel eyes all around her, they bore into every part of Mamis body sending a chill though her body like a poison. The eyes judged the women standing there with a feeble weapon in her hands as her legs started to tremble, Mami was weak and useless in their view and no amount of training could change that, Mami was the one thing they despised, female.

The watching eyes were fierce with glares as they bore into Mamis frame, making her body burn with hate as she looked around, Mami couldn't see any eyes looking back at her but she could feel their gaze. A twinge in the back of her head caused Mami to freeze, this feeling was embedded into her skin like a curse, a feeling she would never forget.

"NO…" Mami screamed into the darkness as she tightly closed her eyes "…STOP IT" The tingle at the base of Mamis head grew in intensity until it was a mild burn shooting down her spine. The gaze froze her blood with fear as their silent promises spiked all over her body, Mami couldn't take it, the feeling was to much. Her body trembled, her throat tightened and her heart shuddered as the eyes drilled into the back of her head, with a dull thud the kunai slipped from Mamis grip and tumbled onto the mossy grass below.

In her fear filled mind Mami could make out high pitched screaming and she could feel that her mouth was wide open, the noise must be coming from her but the two didn't feel connected. The eyes kept looking at Mami as her skin shivered with dread, this could not be happening, not now.

Trying to keep the eyes away Mami made herself as small as she possibly could, Mami fell to her knees and tucked herself into a ball as she threw her arms over head, she was reduced to a shivering pile on the floor but the eyes kept looking, they moved with her to the ground, following her every movement.

"Mami…" A soft voice called, it was laced with panic as a large hand rested on her shoulder "…Mami what's wrong?" With a jerk the fearful female looked up to see a pair of worried dark eyes looking back, their face was rounded with a mess of light brown hair falling around him.

"Choji" Mami whispered in relief as her eyes dared to dart around. Nothing, no one but the expected four was in sight. Mami couldn't sense the mystery person anymore, they must have moved on.

"What happened?" Chojis rough voice asked as he help the shaky shinobi off the mossy ground.

"She's crazy…" Ami informed as she shoved her belongings away "…Mami is dysfunctional that's the problem"

"That's enough…" Choji snapped, his worried eyes turning into hard glares as he looked towards the purple haired women "…Ami and Isamu once you have packed your belongings you will go on ahead, Mami and I will sort the camp out. You are to stop as soon as you have reached the boarder. Are we clear?"

"Yes" Ami and Isamu replied, within a minute the two had packed up and taken off leaving a frightened Mami and a worried Choji.

"You ok?" Choji kindly asked as Naoki rushed out of the surrounding forest panting away as he brought the first rays of morning. The ninja hound bounded up to Mami, his dark eyes were anxious as he rubbed his head on Mamis leg, giving the women some comfort.

"I think so…" Mami replied as her hand affectionately rubbed the large dogs head, he had been out on patrol so he must of heard Mamis screams "…I don't really know what happened"

"You were screaming Mami, you kept telling something to look away…" Mami knew what Choji meant even if he didn't "…I don't know what it was and I can see you don't really want to talk about it. You know where I am if you do" A hug from Choji always lifted Mamis sprits and this one lasted longer then any other, Mami wrapped herself around her good friend and refused to let go as Choji tugged her closer, his masculine smell calming her frayed nerves.

"Thank you" Mami whispered into the larger mans chest as she berried her face as far as it would go.

"Anything for you" Choji replied with a smile as he gave Mami one last squeeze.

A.N. So what did you think? I know the whole being watched thing was blown out of proportion but that was the idea, yuo will find out soonish why Mami freaked. Just to let all my readers know this will be the last chapter for a little while, don't worry I haven't given up but I have alot on my plate right now. Including this story I have 14 on the go, I'm just taking some time off so I can get the basics worked out on some and add a few more chapters to others. I just have so many ideas flying around my head that it's difficult to consentrate on just one at a time. I will be back by the summer maybe even before that, I hope you enjoy the chapters I have posted so far. kitkathampster XxX


	9. Lost

Chapter 8: Lost

"We are utterly lost…" Ami screeched as she threw her arms in the air "…Princess and I have sand in our hair and I need a drink" She gasped as Princess trotted beside the tired kunoichi. It had been a day and a half since Mami had a screaming fit and a day since they entered the desert, they made their camp behind an outcropping of rock where they would be sheltered if a sandstorm hit, thankfully it didn't.

"We only have half a day left…" Choji called from the front as he took a small sip of his canteen of water "…properly not even that" The group of Shinobi all followed in a long line, Choji was in the lead with Ami right behind him; annoying Mami to no end, Isamu followed Ami who was followed himself by Mami and Naoki.

Being the kind man that he was Choji passed his canteen back, Ami greedily took a sip of the cooling water, not even caring that it was river water before handing it to Isamu. Being prepared for a mission was the most important thing for a shinobi so when Chojis own water was passed around when the other two had already finished theirs, well it sent Mami into a huff.

Making sure the others knew what she was doing Mami slammed her pack onto the floor and pulled out a fresh bottle of water, taking a small bowl out of her bag Mami filled it with a little water for Naoki to drink from. With a bark of thanks Naoki took a long gulp from the water before looking up to the side, following his gaze while taking a small sip from the bottle Mami saw Princess stop in her tracks to look back.

Mami wasn't a big fan of cats but seeing the completely black cat gasp in the heat her heart melted just a little bit, Ami had happily taken Chojis water but if you didn't take care of your ninja animal then you weren't a fit owner. Shoving her great oaf of a dog out the way Mami put a splash more water into the bowl and gently shoved it with her foot closer to the poor animal, Princess seamed scared as she took a hesitant step closer. Seeing how worried the cat was about Naoki who's big brown eyes were fixed on the black cat Mani took three big steps back dragging her lump of a fluffy dog with her.

"Water time is over" Choji called when he noticed Mami had stopped, he looked back to see what was going on and smiled kindly at what he saw.

"Sorry Choji, will be ready in a second" Seeing that the cost was clear Princess crept towards the bowl and lapped up a few mouthfuls of the cool water, Mami knew it wasn't the cream Princess would have preferred but it could at least quench the cats thirst.

"Princess, what are you doing…" Ami screamed as she stormed over to the happily drinking cat, she roughly picked Princess up and walked back to stand behind Choji "…don't ever drink out of the mutts dirty bowl again, you might pick something up" Ami stood there fussing over the now happy cat as she was held in Amis arms; Princess meowed in thanks before purring up at her owner. Seeing the bowl was now abandoned Naoki rushed over and finished off the rest of the water in a blink of an eye, with a swish of his tail Naoki picked the bowl up and brought it back for it to be put away; Mami gave him a pat on the head for his good behaviour as she packed away the last of her things.

XxX

"Mami…" Choji called some time later "…can you come up here?" It had been six hours since they had stopped and now the group was getting weary, the hot sun was beating down on them and the water was slowly running dry; only two more hours and they would be at Sunagakure.

"Sure" Mami replied as she sped up her pace with Naoki moping behind her, Choji slowed his walk to a stroll and then stopped altogether. Once everyone had stopped walking Ami fell onto the hot sand gasping for water as Princess curled up beside her mistress, Isamu bent forwards as his hands went to rest on his knees, slowly Mami made progress towards Choji.

"Just checking to see if you're ok back there…" Choji confirmed once Mami and Naoki had caught up to him "…you're a bit quiet"

"Sorry, I'm just thinking" Mami answered as the soft desert breeze blew past, ruffling her long hair.

"What about?" Choji asked as an intense look covered his face, it was almost like he was trying to read her mind. Choji had known Mami for many years, the two were close so he knew the moment something was wrong.

"I don't know where to start…" Mami sighed as the heel of her hands rubbed her tired beast like eyes "…it's hard to describe" It was difficult to know where to start. For the last hour or so whenever the wind blew past the group Mami could hear a faint whisper or she could smell a soft scent, if she tired hard enough Mami could get snippets of a conversation that was difficult to make out; whenever this happened Mami would stop and look round. Something very wrong was larking in these sands, Mami didn't what to stay and find out.

"Keep a look out for anyone suspicious…" Choji called to the two shinobi laying on the hot sand before turning back to Mami "…I'm not sure what is going on but by the look on your face it can't be good" That was what Mami liked the most about Choji, he knew something was wrong and he got it without Mami having to say a word. Just as Mami smiled back in thanks a smell hit her sensitive nose like a ton of bricks, it was him.

Naoki jumped up from his resting place and growled fiercely from the spot beside his mistress, his large lips curled back to show a row of sharp looking white teeth before taking off like a shot, he was up and over the huge sand drift beside the group before they had a chance to blink.

"Naoki" Mami called as she followed the fluff ball up the steep embankment, the lose sand was slippery under her feet but Mami didn't stop. With a little chakra control and a lot of elbow grease the kunoichi was soon at the top of the sand hill and slid down the other side where her partner was waiting; once she was at the bottom Naoki pined softly before running off to the entrance of what looked like a shallow cave. The air coming from the cave was thick with his smell, it was almost unbearable as Mami crept towards the cave, finally the smell lifted but then the soft delicate smell of a young female mixed with salty tears reached the kunoichis nose.

"MAMI" She heard Chojis hurried call as he tried to scramble up the sandy slope, his deep voice echoed in the small cave causing a scared sniffle to come from within.

"Hello…" Mami called softly to hear it echo back. Naoki was laying on his belly beside Mami and slowly tired to shuffle forward "…is anyone there?" There was someone defiantly in there, Mami could smell them but she didn't want to scare them with any sudden movements.

"Wh...who…are…yo…you?" A small voice stuttered as a small figure came out from the shadows. There stood a small child no older then six shacking from head to toe, her short blue hair was sticking up in tufts of short sandy spikes as her raggedy clothes draped on her small body. Her dark brown eyes shined with tears as her soft rosy cheeks showed where they had once fallen.

"My names Mami…" The young ninja softly spoke as the child watched on "…and this is Naoki" Naoki once again shuffled forward causing the young girl to step back in fright.

"Stay away" She whispered as the young child clung to her torn top.

"It's ok…" Mami soothed as Naoki started to wag his tail, his big brown eyes watching the small child before him "…Naoki is a ninja hound, he can tell that you are scared and he wants to make sure you're not hurt"

"He's so big" The young girl mused as she looked fearfully at the huge dog, Naoki pined softly as he shuffled forward again; his tail continuing to wag.

"What's your name young one?" Mami asked when Naoki stopped moving and rolled onto his back, he was now fully in the shade of the cave and was taking great relief from the hot sun as he stretched his long legs.

"Ai…" The young girl whispered was Naoki started to wiggle around on his back "…my name is Ai"

"Nice to meet you Ai"

"MAMI" Choji called again when he had reached the top, he tied to slide down slowly but the sand was having none of it, he slipped and went speeding down the sandy embankment until he reached the bottom, he landed head first into the sand.

"WHO'S THAT?" Ai screamed in fright as she went all the way to the back of the cave, Naoki was having none of it and rolled back onto his front to once again crawl forward on his belly, Ai looked scared but a little pleased when Naoki started to act stupid and chased his fluffily tail.

"That is a very good friend of mine called Choji…" Mami informed when Choji had finally freed himself from the small grains of sand "…us and two others are going to Sunagakure"

"Where are my sisters?…" Ai asked as a stray tear rolled down her face "…the men told me to wait here while my sisters went with them"

"I don't know where your sisters are Ai, but if you come out from there we can look for them together" Mami could see the look of sadness on the young girls face when she smiled softly at Ai.

"What's going on here?" Choji asked as he finally reached the mouth of the cave, he knelt down on the sand before he looked into the cave; it took a moment for his eyes to adjust and when they did he looked to Mami for an explanation.

"This is Ai…" Mami informed the new comer as Naoki finally reached the sacred child "…she is waiting here for her sisters while they went with some man"

"Nice to meet you Ai, my name is Choji" Ai opened her mouth to say hello back but all that came out was a sob, she was so scared in this new place all alone. The sob soon turned into crying as she huddled at the back of the cave, her body shacking with fear as Ai make her self as small as possible. Mami turned to her friend and leader with a look of concern on her face, they couldn't leave this poor child alone, her sisters might not come back and if they didn't, Mami didn't what to think about.

Chojis dark eyes quickly glanced back at Mami before she looked back into the cave, his eyes telling Mami all she needed to know.

Suddenly the crying coming from the small girl turned into a long piercing wail as Ai rushed forward and threw herself into Mami; instinctively Mami wrapped her arms around the young girl and held her tight. Ai cried and cried as they sat there in the backing sun, slowly Naoki came back out of the cave and nuzzled his nose to the crying girls cheek, Choji looked uncomfortable for a moment before gently placing a hand on Ai's back and rubbed small soothing circles.

"My sisters left me because the nasty man took them…" Ai sobbed as she clutched to Mamis blue top "…the man said they would be perfect and dragged them off. He took my sisters but not me"

"There, there…" Mami hushed as she hugged the girl tighter "…all of us will go to the Sand village and from there we can get some of the sand shinobi to help look for your sisters, ok?" Ai just nodded from Mamis lap as she wrapped her arms around Mamis neck.

"I'm coming to?" Ai sighed softly, it was more of a question then a statement but the emotion that filled these three words spoke volumes.

"Of course you are, did you really think we would leave you behind…" Choji answered with a soft smile "…but before we leave why don't you have a drink and something to eat and then we can find the others" With Ai fed and watered Choji, Mami, Ai and Naoki all struggled back up the embankment and over the other side, being a bit to weak to walk far Ai was carried within the safety of Mamis arms.

"Now we have a brat with us…" Ami gasped in shock as the group tumbled over the embankment "…just what we need, a hitchhiker"

"We have two hours until we get to Sunagakure…" Choji stated firmly as he looked towards the west, shutting Ami up quite quickly "…if we hurry we can make it quicker. When everyone is ready we can go" Reluctantly Ami and Isamu lifted themselves off the gritty floor and stood upright, Ami glared at the small child as she walked past but said nothing else.

The travelling started out quiet, the only noises were the wind and the moving sand but that was until Ai decided it was too quiet, she started to talk about anything and everything, asking Mami questions about anything she could think of. Ai was quite happy telling Mami, Choji and sometimes Naoki about herself and her sisters, by the time Sunagakure came into sight they had been told a lot about the three sisters.

Ai herself was five and she had two older sisters, Youko was sixteen and Sayuri was twenty, their mother had died in childbirth and their father had abandoned them in his grief. Sayuri had raised both Youko and Ai by herself since then and they were happily living in a small flat above a shop Sayuri worked in until the men came; their father had been working on some job before he left and had cut some man out of the deal at the last minute, wanting the money he was promised the man came after the three girls.

The two hours was up and if they wanted to find Ai's missing sisters then they would need to think of a plan and quickly.

A.N. There we go the next chapter, this isn't my best or favortie chapter but I like it; in a way. I have been trying to sort out chapters 9 and 10 these past few weeks along with the other stoires I have on the go, I will post the next chapter soon so keep an eye out. All that is left to say is enjoy. kitkathampster


	10. A hiccup in the plan

Chapter 9: A hiccup in the plan

"The mission is a great success…" Gaara praised the group lined up before his desk, three of the four shinobi bowed as Choji stepped forwards and offered the scroll, Gaara accepted the document with a quick twitch of his lips "…please stay a night or two before you head back to the Leaf village, the journey must have been long and hard" Someone within the room must have had the maturity of a newt as an amused snort bounced off the four walls, Gaara looked peeved as he glared at the culprit who was standing beside Ami; Isamu had the grace to look down as he tried to hide his smile.

"Thank you Kazekage, we would be honoured to take you up on the offer of rest" Choji cut in before Isamu could make a bigger fool of himself, the four leaf shinobi bowed in respect at the Kazekage before leaving; Isamu quicker then the rest when Gaaras gourd started to shake.

"So what do we do now?" Ami asked as she stretched like a cat, her joints popping making Ami sigh in satisfaction. Princess leapt from her curled up position on the sofa outside of Gaaras office and onto her mistress shoulder, her fur rubbing against Amis cheek when the black cat purred.

"Depends on what Gaara said" A soft voice called from behind the gathered group, the four shinobi and one small child slowly turned to see a sandy haired kunoichi standing behind Gaaras assistants desk, her teal eyes watching with a soft smile on her face.

"TEMARI…" Mami squealed in happiness as she ran towards the waiting women with open arms, her eyes quickly glanced down which caused Mami to freeze in shock, her warms still wide and waiting for a hug from her sand sister "…when on earth did this happen?"

"Seven months ago…" Temari smiled as she rubbed the bump affectionately with her hand "…we found out not long after you left" It was difficult but the two women managed to embrace each other in a hug; six months was to long to not see your closest female friend.

"Hello there little one" Mami softly cooed as she knelt on the tiled floor. Mami raised her hand but hesitated as she looked up at the expecting mother, with a nod from Temari Mami gently placed her fingertips across the stretched skin and softly rubbed, a subtle but firm nudge replied to her greeting.

"Someone likes you" Temari giggled as the long haired leaf kunoichi stood up straight, her hand still lingering on the rounded belly.

"And what about my greeting?" Kankuros voice jeered as the brunette male came barrelling down a side corridor and into the open space, he grinned widely at his sister and Mami before he came strolling over to them; his swagger almost smug as he walked past the two other males within the office area.

"KANKURO" Mami squealed with delight as her eyes rested upon the larger male, his daily work out must have been paying off as he looked larger then before.

"Leaf sister" Kankuro greeted with a smug smile as his large arms wrapped around the overjoyed kunoichi, it had been too long since the two had gotten together to catch up. As soft as a butterfly the male shinobi placed a kiss on Mamis forehead, it was almost flirty as the muscular arms around Mami tightened, giving her one last squeeze before Kankuro lifted Mami off her feet. Both shinobi laughed in delight as Kankuro span the both of them around, Mami being held tightly against the his chest.

"I've been looking everywhere for you…" Temari huffed as she stormed over to the older of her two brothers, her eyes blazing as she waddled, Kankuros posture was stiff as he fearfully watched Temari. Once she had reached the sand shinobi Temari used a pointed finger to jab the large chest before her "…where on earth have you been Kankuro?" Temari asked, her hands flying to her hips showing everyone just how peeved she really was. Out of the three sand siblings the fuse for Kankuros temper was the shortest, hands down, nought to shouting in 3.2 seconds was the record but with Temari in her current state of pregnancy she could smash that in a heartbeat. Normally Temari was so laid back she was horizontal.

One thing you need to know about Kankuro was he always gave as good as he got, if you shouted at him Kankuro would shout back, if you hit Kankuro he would hit back twice as hard and if you kiss Kankuro on the cheek you would be pressed against the wall with his tongue down your throat; Don't get him wrong, Kankuro was always a gentleman and would never push a girl further then she felt comfortable with but there would be a girl that would always go further then a drunken kiss. Taking a shouting Temari into account and this little trait Kankuro shouted back, he was louder then his sister who in turn shouted back even louder, so it didn't take long for the two siblings to shout at one another in the middle of the office.

With a small whimper of fear Ai's eyes darted from one person to another, the sofa she was currently sitting on was comfortable but the group got bigger and louder and that worried the small child; with Mami trying to the calm the unknown female and male Ai went to the next best thing, quickly Ai dismounted her seat and rushed over to the long haired leaf shinobi and half hid behind Choji as her small hand fisted the red material of his outfit.

"Well I'm off, I need to rest and Princess needs a nice glass of cream" Ami declared with a huff as her eyes moved from the bickering two and towards Choji, with a nod from the leader Ami headed towards the door, not quick enough for Mamis liking but you can't win them all. Ami left the building with Princess happily purring on the shoulder only to be followed by Isamu; Choji just laughed at their eagerness.

"What do you mean he wanted them 'put away'?" Temari asked moodily as her eyes glared at her bother. Mami was just stood to the side, her hands raised as she tried to keep Temari from shouting, the stress can't be good for the baby.

"Just like I said the man didn't want the women to go into the room to see Gaara so he asked for them to go in a room on their own…" Kankuro sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, smudging his purple facial paint in the process; Mami wondered why he always wore the paint even if he wasn't fighting "…it does seam funny now that I think about it" Kankuro muttered as he thought aloud, a finger tapping his painted chin as he thought.

Mami didn't know why but hearing this put her on edge, why would an unknown man demand to see the Kazekage but want the females traveling with him put into effectively solitary confinement. Temaris face got that little bit more red as she opened her mouth to retort, seeing the look on her face Choji quickly cut in before Mami had a chance.

"Hay don't be like this, it's been a long time since we have got together. Temari, how about we go for lunch, my treat" Choji softly offered as Ai rushed to catch up to the fast moving male.

"Who's this?" Temari asked kindly as Ai's movements caught her eye. Carefully Temari knelt down to Ai's height, once she was level the pregnant lady wobbled before getting her balance right; she even had to place a hand on the floor just in case she tittered again. The scared child fully hid behind Choji as Temari smiled kindly at the young girl, Ai buried her face into Chojis leg thinking if she couldn't see the women the women couldn't see her.

"This is Ai, Mami found her in a cave on her own…" Choji informed as he gently moved to the side so Temari could see her "…we were hoping you could help us in the search of her two missing sisters"

"Oh no you poor thing…" Temari gushed as she tried to right herself, it was rather difficult with a seven month bump but she managed it "…why don't we have some lunch and then I will have a word with the Kazekage" Ai was pleased with this and gave the women a small smile before taking Chojis large hand.

"Kankuro…" Mami called softly as the others were distracted, she hid behind the large males frame hoping not to be noticed. Kankuro turned his head just an inch to show he was listening "…can I go see the women?" The puppet ninja glanced at Mami over his shoulder and gave the kunoichi a wired look, thankfully Choji and Temari were walking out the building with Ai between them and didn't notice the scheming pair.

"Why?" Kankuro asked unsurely as his eyes quickly did a once over of Mami, his eyebrow raised in question as he turned to fully face her. He could see the steel look of determination on Mamis face, a look he had seen only a few times; something wasn't right.

"I just have a bad feeling about this" Mami clarified as she looked up at Kankuro, he in turn raised his eyebrow again but said nothing as he turned; Kankuro looked back for a brief moment before summing Mami to follow him with a finger. Silently the two walked though the long and confusing corridors of the Kazekage manor/office, they were almost like shadows in the night as Kankuro flew down the corridors, turning this way and that until they came to a sudden stop.

Moving swiftly though the long corridors didn't make for quick stopping, even with her fast reflexes Mami couldn't stop in time and barrelled into Kankuros, her body pressed into his back and Mami automatically put her arms around the male shinobi to keep herself from falling over; Mami didn't have to see Kankuros face to know he had a huge grin on his face.

"You ok back there?" With her hands placed on his firm chest Mami could feel the rumbling chuckle Kankuro had the grace to suppress as he half turned towards her. With the sparkle in his eyes and a raised eyebrow Kankuro was in his full out flirt mode; Kankuro had two modes, flirt and brother, Mami liked them both and had a laugh with each one in a different way but this wasn't the time for the flirt to come out.

"Put flirt away would you…" Mami huffed as she moved her arms from around the puppet nin and shoved him lightly in the back "…this is big boy time" As a response Kankuro turned towards the wood frame he had stopped at and extended a single gloved finger, his grin soon turned into a frown as he lightly tapped that finger on the doors smooth handle; the look on his face was stern as his head turned to look at Mami.

"Two minutes…" Kankuro clarified with a look "…that's all the time I can give you"

"That's plenty" Mami replied softly before she rasped on the door with her knuckles, gently so not to disturb the women inside Mami slowly turned the smooth door handle and nudged the door open to peek inside.

The room itself was small, the plain coloured walls were blank of any paintings leaving the room feeling cold and anyone one inside it unwelcome. Pushed against three of the washed-out walls were stiff looking sofas, they were also pale in colour and looking a bit thread bare in some places, the seats offered a place to rest your feet but how comfortable they really were was yet to been seen. Some bright spark had decided to put a large coffee table in the middle of the room, normally it would work but the room was small and the space cramped it left little room to move around, and not only that there was a scattering of magazines on the worn surface; the reading material years out of date.

Sat in the corner furthest from the door were two women, they both looked scared as they huddled together for comfort, the older looking of the two had the other girl bundled in her arms as silent tears ran down her face.

"Hello…" Mami softly greeted as she squeezed into the room, both women looked up in a mixture of fright and shock "…I'm Mami" The oldest of the two watched as Mami wondered; or tried to, around the room. The leaf shinobi took a closer look around, bleak, desolate and boring were the words that sprang to mind, but then again this room was properly never used. Causally Mami flicked though the magazines on the table as she got closer to the two females, her fingers lightly brushing over a headline that was three years old.

"Are you with them?" The older of the two asked as she moved from her huddled companion, she rose to her feet and stood before the other girl, her brown eyes were burning with hate and an animal fierceness as a few stands of blue hair fell from her messy ponytail.

"If you mean Leaf shinobi then yes…" Mami replied as the dusty light above glinted on her headband that was wrapped around her thigh "…we have just arrived from a mission, god it's hard work sometimes" The older women and Mami both looked at each other, for an intense Mami thought the women would jump her before Mami flopped onto one of the free seats; yes the sofas were as uncomfortable as they looked.

"We still need to find…" A small voice started as the younger female tugged on the fabric of the others top, her bright green eyes looked up with fear and panic as her blonde hair dully glinted in the light.

"Stop it…" The older one shushed "…we don't know who this person could be"

"I already told you, my name is Mami and I'm a shinobi from the Leaf village…" Mami said in a causal voice as her head fell back "…I'm also a shinobi who has great nose for tracking" The ninja hinted as she threw sandy boots onto the table and tied to sink into the threadbare sofa.

"What do you mean by that?" The older female asked as she looked down at Mami, her brown eyes shined with not only fear but hidden in the depths was a small glint of hope.

"My ninja hound and I came across a sent that had me a bit befuddled, we found that the sent belonged to a small child who was waiting for her sisters…" The younger female looked up, her eyes tearing up, in happiness or in sadness Mami did not know "…with some food and water inside her this small child told us about her sisters and how they came to be in the middle of the desert, not wanting to leave her one of my team mates and also the leader of our mission agreed for us to bring her along. She is currently with my squad leader and the sister of the Kazekage" That was what the sisters needed to hear, the two females sat together with looks of joy on their faces; they knew who Mami was talking about.

"Thank you" They whispered together as the clung to one another.

"I must go now…" Mami said with a pointed looked at the older female "…nice to meet you Youko and Sayuri" With this Mami swiftly stood up and walked out of the room.

"What are you doing?" A booming voice hollered as a man the size of a house came barrelling down the empty corridor. Confused Mami looked around for her male companion to find Kankuro was nowhere in sight, he must have lost his nerve and taken off, with a shrug Mami wiped the sand nin from her mind and turned towards the shouting newcomer.

The first thought to cross Mamis mind was how could this males large frame could fit in such a small space. The man was even bigger then Mami first thought as he came level with the female shinobi, the males eyes were a pale shade of steel grey as they glared angrily at the small woman before him, his hair; a shock of orange, was mused in a cute kind of way, for a rat perhaps, it was almost as if the male was trying to be hip and cool, down with the youngsters as it looked more like an orange bird nest on his head. Mami didn't know why but the look of this male, the way he stood and his mere presence sent alarm bells bouncing around Mamis head, but why.

"Sorry mate…" Mami replied as her animalistic eyes glanced over the male before her "…looking for the bathroom and got lost. Those women in there are really nice, are they with you?"

"That has nothing to do with you" The man spat though gritted teeth as he straightened his spine to look even more cramped in the small space, the top of his messy orange hair brushing along the ceiling. Quickly Mamis brain ticked over, flashing though memory after memory trying to place the male within one of them, she was almost there, could almost remember, his name on the tip of her tongue but what was it. Mami was feeling frustrated as the tingle of an almost complete memory fell into place and gone, Mami lost the memory as it jumped and flashed around to much to make heads or tails of it.

"No need to snap, I was just leaving" Mami snipped to the unknown male as her eyes quickly glanced to his two tightly clenched fists.

"You were going to the bathroom right?…" With a nod from Mami a sickening smile spread across the males thin lips "…well let me send you straight to the hospital" Moving so fast it was a blur the man raised a fist causing Mami to flinch back in fear, she couldn't help it her body reacted automatically to the threat, but why. It was then that a memory moved quickly though her mind, this man, Mami had met him before and now she knew why; him.

Before the male had a chance to strike Mami took a step back, her distinctive eyes boring hate into the male as he stood poised. Why hadn't she picked it up before, his look, his eyes, his fist and his scent, it all fit into the jumble of her mind and now she had found this man Mami wasn't letting him get away.

"Oh please forgive me…" The male spoke with a tone of laughter in his voice as he lowered his raised arm "…my temper is quite fiery at the best of times and after such a long journey I was at my whit's end" Mami sent him her best smile, seeing the look in his eyes, he recognised her.

"All is forgiven Mr…"

"Please call me Yuto" The male filled in with a smile just as bright and fake as Mamis

"Yuto please don't worry about it, I'm in the same boat and in need of a long sleep. If you will forgive me I must take my leave" With one last flash of a smile Mami turned to leave, hoping the male was as thick as he looked and she could trap him in, catch another of the group and put an end to their evil ways.

"Goodbye my dear, might see you around" Yuto replied.

"Bye then" Mami whispered as she fully turned, the sooner she got out of her the quicker she could get to work.

"Wait a second miss…" The big lug called, his hand reaching out to the female "…I think the bathrooms are that way" He pointed kindly to the right of the corridor with a soft smile on his face, or it would be like a soft smile if the hardened look in his eyes didn't give it away. With a nod of thanks Mami moved in a fast walk until she was out of his steely sight, when she was Mami ran hard and fast, she took turn after confusing turn; left, left, right, straight on, right then left and then left again. Mami was sure she was getting more lost as time ticked by but finally she smelt the person she needed the most, following her nose Mami finally came before the double doors that the Kazekages office was behind.

"Gaara I need to talk with you…" Mami all but shouted as she burst though the doors, the look of urgency apparent on her face. Gaara mealy looked up with a mild look of surprise and interest as he sipped his tea, Kankuro however fell off the sofa he was lounging on "…something really important has come up"

"What is it Mami?" Gaara asked softly as he put his tea cup down, his wide aqua eyes looked at the breathless kunoichi.

"That man that was just here, you must arrest him, he's not who you think he is" Mami huffed out as Kankuro got the kunoichi to sit down, he looked to Gaara for help or an explanation but he got neither.

"Are you sure?" Gaara asked as he watched Mami with stern eyes.

"Yes…" Mami all but screamed "…get me the Data book and I can prove it"

XxX

"You summand me Kazekage" The orange haired man said as he bowed deeply with a flourish of his hand, Mami could see the look of worry on his face as he took in the five Sand ANBU that stood within the room.

"You came here only moments ago to ask my permission to say a few nights to rest with your girls Yuto…" Gaara began as the man took the seat he was interacted "…you informed me that you are a travelling salesman and have grown weary of travelling. Something has been brought to light and there has been an accusation against you"

"I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about Leader of the Sand…" Yutos grey eyes quickly glanced to Mami who was sat in the corner of the room, Gaara however didn't miss this "…I am but a humble salesman looking for a place to rest"

"That may be the case but if the accusation is true then I must put the safety of Sunagakure first…" With a wave of his hand the five ANBU moved to stand beside and behind Yuto, with his finger Gaara summand Mami forward "…you may begin"

"As you know Kazekage the Data book holds all the known information of the most wanted criminals, it however doesn't have any known pictures they go into the Bingo book…" Mami processed to flick though the Data book in her hands, when she found the page she wanted Mami handed the book to Gaara, a look of determination crossed the leaf nins face she made her way towards 'Yuto' "…if this man could kindly stick his tongue out, then I can show you something" Yuto was reluctant to open his mouth as he clapped his jaw shut, when Mami looked at him he just shock his head.

"If you are as innocent as you claim Yuto then you have nothing to fear" Gaara said smoothly as he watched on from behind his desk. Yuto quickly looked to Gaara before glaring at Mami, while everyone was focused on his face Yuto jumped up from his seat. Taking the advantage while he could Yuto dived threw the ANBU to escape but when he got to the doors they were coved in a thick wall of sand. There was a blur of arms and legs as the ANBU struggled to pin the man in their iron grip, it didn't take long but there would be a few buried egos to lick. With a sigh Gaara moved from behind his desk and strolled over to Yuto; with forceful hands the man opened his mouth and had someone pull his tongue out as far at it would go.

"At the back…" Mami clarified as she made her way over to the group "…there should be a tattoo of a crown with a snake wrapped round it" Not missing a beat Gaara looked to the back of Yutos mouth and then back at the book he still had in his hand, his eyes zipped across the page as he took the information in, his aqua eyes then looked back in Yutos mouth before looking to the ANBU.

"This man has been positively identified as Shigeru the side kick and main muscle of the King Ayumu group, he will be detained in the cells until the Council of Five have been brought together. He will be given a trial for his crimes where his punishment will be decided"

"This can't be happening…" Shigeru whispered in disbelief as he struggled against the tight hold "…she lied, Mami lied. I'm not Shigeru"

"Tell me Shigeru, at what time did anyone say the name Mami?…" Gaara asked blankly as he looked down at the man in degust. Shigeru just spluttered as he realised his mistake "…get him out of my sight" After a quick jab to the back of the neck Shigerus head sank as he went out for the count, working as quickly as they could the ANBU whisked the man out of sight to put him in a holding cell, none to gently either.

"Thank you Gaara…" Mami whispered when the room was once again quiet "…thank you for believing me" With the same emotionless expression on his face Gaara walked back behind his desk and sat down, his fingers linked together and his elbows rested on the desk as he looked Mami right in the eye.

"That was a good call Mami…" The skin around his blue eyes crinkled as a smile tugged at his lips, Gaara had a knowing look on his face as his eyes briefly looked to the door of his office "…you should be proud of yourself. Now go and get some rest, I'm sure Choji will be looking for you"

A.N. Sorry this chapter is late, what with extra hours at work and my sister getting marrried I didn't have time to just sit down. I really hope you enjoy this chapter.


	11. A late Birthday

Chapter 10: A late birthday

It was official; Mami and Shikamaru had now been going out for exactly one month. In that one month Mami hadn't seen much of the Nara and wanted to spend more time with him, the rare occasion that both ninja were free one would be whisked away on a last minute mission; much to their annoyance, each time the couple made plans they would have to cancel as one of them would be summand to the Hokage. However it seemed that the Hokage was a women of her word, since the sand mission Lady Tsunade had been giving Mami small and simple missions, missions a genin would take but in return Shikamaru was getting more complicated ones; while Mami ran around the Leaf Village doing jobs from passing around messages to weeding someone's garden Shikamaru was running round the Land of Lightning fighting the latest group of free will radicals.

Today Mami and Naoki were making their way towards the house they spent most of their childhood in, to make up for the fact that Mami had missed her birthday the Inuzuka family got together to throw Mami a small surprise party, family only in other words. Mami wasn't to fussed about the party, she never really liked being the centre of attention but everyone had arranged the day off to spend it with her, so with a smile and a bounce in Mamis step the two made their way over to the house.

"Auntie Mami…" A small voice called as a blur of brown came running towards her "…happy late birthday"

"Chiharu" Mami greeted as her six year old niece came running out of the house and into her arms, with a tight hold Mami lifted the young girl off the floor and span both of them around, Chiharu squealed in delight as she spread her arms out like an aeroplane. Chiharu was a happy, loving and curios child, she grew up around animals so it was no surprise when Chiharu announced she wanted to be a vet just like her mother.

"Chiharu…" Hanas voice called as her bare feet padded along the side of the house "…where are you?"

"I'm here mummy…" Chiharu replied with a wave and a huge smile "…look I found Mami"

"That's my girl" Hana praised with a huge smile. Chiharu beamed with happiness as she bounced in Mamis arms, she wiggled around in her aunts' grip wanting to be put down so she could see her mother; Once Chiharu was gently placed on the ground she scrambled over to her loving mother, the two shared a quick kiss as they waited for Mami and Naoki to wonder over.

"Hey sis" Mami greeted with a wave as Naoki barked his greeting.

"Come on Mami, your late for your own party" Hana joked in a sharp tone as she watched her younger sister tug off her shinobi boots.

"No sis, everyone is early" Mami corrected as she surged her shoulders, her boots now laying in the hallway; Hana let out a small chuckle as she led to the two young females and a dog into the house, Naoki paused for a moment in the doorway to wipe his dusty paws on the doormat.

"Look at what Naoki did…" Chiharu called as she looked over Hanas shoulder "…Naoki is a good boy" With a turn of her head Hana saw Naoki wipe his large back paw one last time before running to catch the females up.

"What! That is unfair; I can't get Chiharu to wipe her feet let alone the Haimaru brothers"

"Naoki only does this though years of hard training…" Mami joked as she patted the large dogs head "…he also puts the toilet seat down when he's done" A rather unlady like snort issued from Hana as she gave Mami a playful slap on the arm.

"The day he does that I will eat dog food" Mami just laughed at her sister, Hana had a habit of saying things like that and it was always followed by a smirk, a smirk that make a challenge all the sweeter when Hana was called upon it; time for Naoki to undergo some more training.

"HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY MAMI" The room chorused with joy as the twenty two year old followed Hana into the family room. The soft cream walls that were once covered in baby pictures were now covered in steams of blue banners, the words happy birthday covered the room in huge colourful letters, blue balloons spelled out her age as they bobbed with the gentle breeze from the open window. In the middle of the room was a huge dog shaped cake that was covered in blue icing and blue candles, a small stack of presents sat on the table by the cake begging to be opened. It looked as if a blue monster had exploded everywhere; or thrown up, blue banners, blue cake, blue wrapping paper, blue plates, blue everything.

All Mami could see was her family surrounded by an ocean of blue.

"Oh my god, I never knew. This is such a surprise" Mami gushed in mock surprise as she looked at everyone in the room, her mother Tsume was happily smiling at the back of the group with Kuromaru by her side; the two with the roughest exterior but the biggest hearts. Hana was fussing over a wiggling Chiharu as she was gently held by her father Iruka; the three Haimaru brothers barked their greeting as Akamaru and Naoki tackled them from the side. Kiba was happily sitting down with a giggling Hiroto in his arms; Ino was hovering near by with a bottle ready for his next feeding. All in all a happy room.

"Aunty Mami…" Chiharu called as she wiggled harder in her father's arms "…I want to help"

"Settle down Chiharu…" Iruka scolded as he gripped firmly onto his daughter "…if you wiggle to much you will fall" The warning fell on deaf ears, just like any typical Inuzuka Chiharu had a goal and no one was going to get in her way. Just like her father Chiharu had lightly tanned skin but Hanas eyes and hair, the soft brown locks were scrapped up into cute pigtails, framing the child face as Chiharus hair settled in front of her shoulders.

"We need to hang on a minute…" Mami clarified as her gentle gaze fell onto her hyperactive niece "…we need to wait for Hiroto to finish his feed, I will need all the help I can get to blow all the candles out"

"NO…" Chiharu screamed as she moved around more erratically "…I want to help open presents" Tsume watched over her children like a mother hen with a small smile of fondness on her lips, the once quiet room was now manic with movement as everyone inside scurried around the room. Mami was trying to calm the always moving Chiharu as she struggled to get free from her father, Hana padded about trying to find one of Chiharus favourite toys, hoping to distract the child and Ino soon joined in as Kiba happily fed his son; Tsumes brood could be rowdy at times but she wouldn't change any of it for the world.

"That's enough chit chat, time for the cake" Tsume confirmed as she stepped into the rowdy zone, her lips twitched into a grin as her eyes looked at each of her children as the room went silent.

"YAY, CAKE" The cake was out of this world, the sponge was soft and moist as blue icing sweetened the delicious treat that little bit more, the jam keeping the two halves together had blue food colouring mixed in; they really had gone all out on the blue. Even Hiroto had a bite but he spit it out again as his eyes opened in shock, which earned a giggle from Chiharu.

When the cake was completely consumed and all that was left were a few crumbs on the plate Mami sat by herself next to an open door at the back of the room, her eyes looking out into the garden as Hiroto rested in her arms, his head snuggled into the side of Mamis neck to keep warm as a soft chilly breeze swept into the room.

If Mami was truthful with herself she had missed all the noise and madness that her family home brings, she had moved out years ago, wanting her own space and somewhere Mami could call her own, that was something she had inherited from her father, independence; along with the penny pinching, looking back on it Mami would have done it again if she was given the chance but that didn't mean Mami would miss her family any less.

Being an Inuzuka meant Mami was fiercely loyal to not only her family but also her friends, Mami was proactive of anyone in her clan but partially so over the younger clan members. Hiroto sighed as he wiggled around in Mamis arms, once he had settled down Mami softly brushed his hair as he snuggled back into her, Inuzuka were not only protective of their young but of others as well. If anyone hurt a hair on Chiharu or Hirotos head then they would have to answer to Mami.

"Enjoying the day so far?" Ino asked her sister in law as she joined Mami by the open window, the chilly breeze cooling the overheated room.

"Very much so" Mami replied as Hiroto responded to his mother's voice, his small hand gripped onto Mamis top she turned towards Ino, his other hand was swinging around as he toothlessly grinned up at the two women.

"But…" Ino continued, she could feel there was once coming.

"…but I just feel as if something is missing" Mami bounced Hiroto a few times to sooth him, it was more for herself but the baby in her arms liked it so she continued. There was something missing or should she say someone.

"Your dad" Ino sighed as she looked away, this was a difficult topic for her, Mamis dad my not have been the man to kill her sensei years ago but he was still around when it happened. The man Mami called her dad was in fact not her biological father, Mami had come across this man a few times in her young life, she had found him almost twelve years ago on the side of the road and helped him out; the man then returned Mamis kindness by being a father figure to her.

"It has been over a year and a half now, I just wish…" Mami sighed as she shuffled Hiroto around "…I wish he could be here"

"He wants to be here…" A voice piped up as Tsume wondered over to her daughters; one born from her and the other married "…I can't tell you everything but while you were in Sunagakure Mami I was sent on my own mission and I happened to bump into the old goat, he's fine, just wants to come back and count his money like normal" The older women laughed as she patted Mami on the head, Tsume ruffled Mamis long hair before walking off again. With a gurgle and a snot bubble Hiroto grumbled, Mamis nephew wanted some attention.

"What was that for?" Mami giggled in a soft baby voice as Hiroto looked up at his aunt, his pale blue eyes looking a little confused until Mami pulled a face, he giggled loudly at the hilarity of the face pulling and reached his small hands up trying to grip the funniness.

"You will be a great mother someday" Ino mused as she gently took her son from Mami; she tucked the small child into her body as she smiled down at the infant.

"You think so?" Mami asked softly as Hiroto snuggled into his mother.

"I don't think so…" Ino whispered as her eyes glanced up "…I know so"

XxX

"To Mami…" Chiharu read aloud as she held a card in her hands "…happy birthday, this will keep you warm in the cold. From Kak…Kakashi, Shizu…Shizune and the triplets"

"I wonder what it could be" Mami pondered aloud as Tsume passed her daughter the present that went with the card, Chiharu happily helped Mami to open the gift and she was a little disappointed.

"A scarf" Chiharu huffed from her aunts' lap as the paper from the Shizune wrapped gift fell to the floor.

"But it's not just any old scarf…" Mami informed the young child as the light blue fabric slipped though her fingers "…it's a Kakashi scarf" With fast movements Mami wrapped the marital around her neck before pulling the specially added scrap of fabric to make a mask, Mami added the hat and gloves that matched, modelling the items for her young niece.

"You look funny" Chiharu giggled as she tugged the mask down.

"That might be but Mami will be toasty warm when the snow comes" Hana informed her daughter as Chiharu pouted from her fleshly seat.

"I don't have children that pout on my lap" Mami giggled as she removed her gloves to reveal her slender fingers. Mami pounced on the unsuspecting child and tickled her into submission, Chiharu was really ticklish but partially so on her sides.

"Dear Mami…" Kiba read as he flipped the next card open "…hope you have a wonderful day full of laughter and happiness, you looked a little thin the last time I saw you so I whipped up your favourite. It's from Choji and his parents"

"They haven't…" Mami gasped in disbelief as she ripped the glittery blue paper from the small box shaped gift "…they have"

"Have what?" Iruka asked as Mami opened the box in her hands to revile lots of chocolates, each homemade sweet sat in their wrappers waiting to be eaten, their different shapes alluring Mami's mouth to water.

"When Choji goes on a mission his mum will always pack a small snack box for him, Choji shared it with me once and the chocolates were to die for" Her taste buds were dancing in anticipation, praising the sweet nectar that would soon be eaten. With a moan of delight Mami popped a round ball of heaven into her mouth, with her mouth being full she silently offered the box around.

"Damn their good" Kiba whispered as the chocolate slowly melted on his tongue.

"And you said Chojis mum makes these…" With a nod form Mami Tsume looked pleased "…I must remember ask for some"

"To Mami…" Ino began as she spoke round her tasty treat "…your birthday is to be celebrated with happiness and joy. Enjoy the spring time of your youth with vigorous training, never give up and that impossible goal will be yours" Ino couldn't help it; the words were just too funny not to laugh at.

"Are you alright?" Hana asked her newest sister as Ino clutched onto her sides.

"The…spring time…of…your youth" Ino gasped as her hands latched onto whatever she could find.

"That has to be from Lee and Sakura" Mami giggled softly, Lee could always be counted on for an unlimited amount of energy. With a few rips to the paper two weights fell onto the floor with a bang, they left a slight indentation on the floor to which Tsume just raised an eyebrow.

"Weights, now that isn't normal" Kiba mused as he sat beside his laughing wife.

"It means I can train at home now, I've been after a pair like this for a while now. I must thank Lee when I see him next" Mami defended her quirky friend, Lees heart was in the right place and Mami did what a set so she could train at the flat.

"To Mami…" Hana read as Kuromaru pushed a bag towards Mami with his mussel "…you have helped us find the happiness and joy in life where pain was before. Thank you for everything, now it's our turn to return the favour, signed Ai and Youko"

"Who are they?" Chiharu asked sweetly as her big eyes looked up at her aunt, her pigtails bouncing as Chiharu gazed up.

"When I was on a mission a few weeks ago in the Land of Wind I found Ai in a cave…" Mami informed the group as she took the offered bag, her fingers quickly working on the tape keeping the gift together "…she was alone and scared. I brought Ai along with us and in the process found her two sisters, but I wonder why Sayuri didn't sign" As Mami finished her sentence the opening of the bag came free revelling the gift inside. Mamis eyes widened in shock as they darted across the book title, a deep blush crept up Mamis cheeks as she quickly taped the bag back up to prevent little eyes from looking in and promptly sat on it.

"Mami…" Tsume gasped in shock as the redness in her daughters cheeks deepened to a tomato red "…stop sitting on your gift"

"But mum…"

"No buts, hand it here" Tsume was sat on the sofa with her hand held out expectantly for the bag, Mami just looked away. Tsume was impatient; something Kiba inherited from his mother, so when Mami didn't move Tsume used her 'listen to me or you are in deep trouble' look catching the young women's attention. Mother and daughter had a small stare down which lasted ten seconds before Mami sighed in defect, reluctantly Mami shifted from sitting upon the embarrassing book and handed the bag over to her mother. With a slight grin of victory Tsume opened the blue bag to see the source of Mamis blush, an identical flush crept up Tsumes cheeks before she sat upon the bag; this caused the room to laugh.

"Mami-san, happy late birthday, believe it. Naruto and Hinata" Iruka muttered as a small blue gift was thrown her way from the left, Mami snatched the flying box from the air before it hit Chiharu on the side of the head, Kiba got a sharp glare from his older sister as Chiharu happily sang happy birthday unawares of the flying object.

"Brilliant, I needed some more ointment…" Mami cheered as she produced a small brown bottle of sticky liquid "…oh and two vouches for a free meal at Ichiraku"

"And you will naturally bring your favourite brother in law to Ichiraku" Iruka joked which earned him an elbow in the ribs and a sharp look from Hana.

"But what about your favourite niece"

"Or brother"

"All right, all right, settle down now. Time for the next present" Ino interrupted as Mami opened the next card.

"To Mami, happy late birthday. From Kankuro" A look of puzzlement crossed Mamis face as the biggest box shaped box was handed to the kunoichi, the box looked really heavy but it was as light as a feather. The shiny blue paper glinted in the light as Mami ripped it away, Chiharu naturally helped.

"It's a doggy" Chiharu squealed in delight as she shoved her small arm into the box.

"It's not a doggy…" Mami corrected as she gently eased the object out of its cardboard home "…it's a doggy puppet"

"It's Naoki…" The small child cheered as she patted the orangey red fur that covered the wood structure "…he even has a collar"

"Kankuro has put a lot of detail into this" Ino mussed as her eyes scanned the puppet; it even had a white flash on the chest.

"Can I play with him, please pretty please?" Chiharu begged, her eyes large and puppy like as she gazed up at Mami. How could she turn down a face like that?

"Of course you can but you have to be very careful with him" Mami instructed as she handed the stringed puppet to Hana. Chiharu happily followed her mother as Hana showed her child how to work the many strings, once she had the hang of it Chiharu climbed into her mother's lap and started to play. Naoki just looked confused as his eyes bounced from the puppet to Mami and back again, he didn't know what to make of the mini him.

"This one is from Ino and me…" Kiba began as he handed over the wrapped gift. The thin layer of paper covering the heavy item was once again blue but it was dotted with little smiley faces, they looked up happily with glittery eyes as Mami took the offered item "…we know how you like reading, it should come in handy"

"I'm sure it will" Mami replied with a soft smile as she placed the wrapped gift in her lap, Mami had a slight frown above her eyes as she looked for a some part that wasn't covered with tape; it was difficult but in a small corner the wrapping paper stuck out, with a short pull the smiling paper fell to the floor to reveal a thick book.

"1001 herbs and their uses…" Iruka muttered as his eyes glanced at the book "…don't you…"

"I love it…" Mami loudly declared as she looked up at her brother and sister in law with a huge smile on her face. Ino looked down at the book in Mamis lap and then to Kiba with a puzzled look in her blue eyes, Kiba smiled back at his sister with a huge grin. The proud look on Kibas face and the confusion on Ino's showed Kiba had chosen the gift alone, he looked so happy Mami didn't have the heart to say she already had a dog-eared copy at home by her bed "…thank you"

A.N. It's been so long since I updated. I have been stuck working out the kinks of the next chapter and then I wasn't happy with it so I started again. Anyway, enjoy.


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